Review Detail

Table Titans Club

Middle Grade Fiction 220

Enter the World of D & D

October 03, 2025 (Updated: June 15, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Valeria has to move for her mother's job AGAIN, but she also has the opportunity to mend her ways and not fight in school. It's a rocky first day, with Val growling at mean girl Kate and jumping on a desk, as well as Val getting sent into the hall for farting, but there is an upside; Andrew notices how bad her day is and asks her to join his Dungeons and Dragons gaming club at school. Alan isn't thrilled with this, but Darius is okay. Interestingly, Kate goes unheard when she mumbles that she would like to play as well. The group has an advisor, Mr. Khoo, whose wife is expecting, so he needs the group to find another sponsor. The only available on is Coach Bittne, who challenges the group to work with the wrestling team he coaches. The boys suit up, but are unable to pin their opponent. Desperate for the club to work, Val gives it a try and manages to do quite well. The club goes well, and Val enjoys her time playing a druid, and is fascinated by the Guardian Gaming store where they get books and dice donated to the team. When Kate and Val have a tiff in the hallway, Coach Bittner has them clean the locker room as a punishment, and the girls manage to work out some of their issues. Val does so well with wrestling that she is made a competing member of the team. Eventually, Kate is asked to join the gaming club, and Val ends the story by showing the group a flyer for a gaming camp, Camp Owlcare. Things are certainly looking up.

Good Points

Friend drama is always a huge seller, and I thought that this was a much more interesting story than the more usual graphic novel memoir. Sure, Val has her problems, but the whole book doesn't constantly rehash them. She finds a good group of friends, explores new activities, and most of all, has realistic interactions with her mother. This is a topic not explored enough in middle grade literature! This year, my school wrestling team has three girls on it, and I love that the coach doesn't even blink when Val offers to try wrestling. Perfect. The relationship between Val and Kate was especially well done, and I enjoyed that they were able to become friends. A lot to recommend this, AND fantastic details about playing Dungeons and Dragons.

It's the noses in graphic novels usually bug me, but this time it was Val's hair in her face. Grab me a cartoon barrette! While her anger management problem added an interesting layer to the story, there could have been more of an explanation for it. It's a topic that could have been expanded more fully.

There are a growing number of D&D books (including Durfey-Lavoie Just Roll with It.) and while I don't have a huge number of kids who play each year, there are always a few, so I consider these a long term investment. As with horse books, it's good to buy a few each year for those die hard readers who are really interested.