Summer Reading

Rita

Dramarama

By: E. Lockhart





The Book:



1. The main character’s name is Sarah Paulson. Sarah’s characteristics are that she is theatrical, creative, but lacks self-confidence.



2. The beginning is about how Sarah and her best friend Demi get into Wildewood

Academy for the Performing Arts, Summer Theater Institute. They are leaving

“Frazzle-Dazzle deprived” Benton, Ohio.



In the middle of the story Sarah and Demi are in many shows and acting

classes. But, Sarah starts to realize that she isn’t as good at acting as Demi, or any

of her other friends. Demi gets lead roles, her three roommates get lead roles,

and her roommates have all been in multiple Broadway shows. This upsets Sarah

and often makes her feel inadequate.



Towards the end, many things go wrong for Sarah. The first thing is that she talks

behind her friend’s back and the friend finds out causing Sarah to loose this

friend, and many others. What is really an issue for Sarah is that she gives her

opinions during classes and rehearsals which makes the teachers loose respect for

her. Sarah’s opinions are very critical and she appears controlling. The last, and

probably the biggest thing, was that Sarah and Demi were caught with alcohol and

they both got in trouble. They were both going to be sent home. But Sarah took

the blame so that Demi could stay at camp.





3. In this novel I think the author is trying to say that your best doesn’t always feel good enough. When you lack self-confidence and are jealous of others it is hard to feel good about yourself and others.



The Issues:



1. Sarah Paulson:

• Sarah spoke her mind and her opinions were disrespectful at times. She

made the teachers loose respect for her, and her classmates angry.

• Sarah talked meanly about her friend behind her back. Her friend found out and did not want to be friends any longer. Others heard about this and didn’t want to be friends with Sarah either.

• Sarah took the blame when she and Demi were caught with alcohol. A risky move. She was kicked out of the program. She was selfless for Demi’s sake. Sarah learned how to be a friend and put someone else first.



2. Social Issues That Seem Real and Important:



• Sarah and Demi were caught drinking alcohol and Sarah suffered the consequence. In the book the under age drinking relates to real life because teens struggle with this issue. There are heavy consequences to drinking under age. You can be thrown out of school and activities, you could be arrested, or you could get sick.

• Sarah realized that Demi and her other friends were getting leading roles in the plays at camp and she was not. Sarah lacked self-confidence and felt inadequate compared to everyone else. This is common in real life. Especially with girls. It happens because girls feel like they are not as pretty as other girls, or as talented, or don’t have the right kinds of clothes like other girls, causing them to lack confidence in themselves.



Social Issue That Seems Immediate and Personal:



The author takes the big issue of relationships and a teen girl’s struggle to fit in by showing how Sarah is affected by her own jealousy and being overly critical of others. Sarah used a tape recorder to talk about her friends behind their backs. Once they found out they were no longer friends with Sarah and she felt alone. Sarah’s jealousy and feelings of inadequacy got her in trouble.