“Do you have a Lost and Found?†she asked.
“No, that’s in the office,†I said.
“NO! the book,†she had said, exasperated by my lack of understanding.
Duh! I was tired and it was last period on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving holiday.
We looked in the online catalog. Zero copies available.
“Where is the drama?†she asked next.
I started to point out the plays in the 800’s.
“NO! Ms. P!†she frowned.
I asked what kind of drama.
“Whatever,†she said dismissively and turned to go.
She looked back near the door and said “Bye, Mrs. P.â€
Well, so I had not totally lost her trust (she did say Bye) because she knows I read all the books but I had really gotten lost in my library terminology and failed to help her find the type of book she was willing to read. The term “drama†has somehow become what teen girls mean when they are asking for realistic fiction. The closest the online catalog terms come is High Schools – Fiction.
This calls for a display – don’t you think?
The first time I did reader’s advisory, a girl asked me for a DRAMA book. When I asked her to clarify, she said “Like: she stole my boyfriend and now we’re gonna fight!” I had no idea how to help. I’ve since gotten all the Bluford and Drama High books, and I have to restrict check-out to one per student, and they’re never ever in.
I’ve been looking for someone to put together a good list of DRAMA books since I started at my school, because there’s got to be something beyond these series. The students looking for DRAMA books aren’t satisfied with most of the realistic fiction I’m familiar with, since the action is slow and the characters are white.
I’d love to see that as a Popular Paperbacks list: DRAMA (not the kind on stage)
Drama is by far the most popular request I get from teen girls at my library. It does seem like publishers are noticing this – more series that fill this request seem to be coming out all the time.