Sarah O'Connor

“Maybe I don’t wanna fight a dragon. Maybe I wanna be a dragon. I’m going to write a campaign and I’m going to be the Dungeon Master this time. The Dragon Master Dungeon Master,” (Formato 16).

Things aren’t going well for Riley Henderson. She has to take the bus to school now, make herself an afterschool snack, finish her homework and do her own laundry (gross) all because her older brother Devin is off in college in California. Devin used to do all of this for Riley but now she and her mom are alone stuck fending for themselves in Florida. Riley misses her and Devin’s DnD games and starts planning a campaign for them to do together. But when her map is found by one of her classmates she finds a group of girls interested in joining her campaign. Maybe things aren’t so bad after all.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions for this year was to read more middle grade fiction and Roll for Initiative was a great place to start! I thought Riley was a great protagonist to follow and I loved each and every one of her friends. It was great to see her character development throughout and I loved how her nerdiness and love of Dungeons and Dragons was celebrated instead of mocked.

But the greatest strength is from the characters. While we only follow Riley’s perspective, Formato gives each of the supporting cast wonderful backgrounds that a variety of readers will be able to relate to. From Riley learning who she is without her brother, to Lucy’s disappointment with her absentee mom as she adjusts to living with her dad, Jen’s trying to achieve all her mother has planned for her, Hannah’s poor self-confidence and struggles in school, Devin struggling with failure and worried for his family as he goes to school, even Riley’s mom’s worries of whether or not she’s a good mother. Formato juggles these characters and their struggles with ease, creating characters readers can’t help but empathize with and care for.

Roll for Initiative rolls a Nat 20 debut! I love this start of DnD in middle grade and can’t wait to see it continue!

Publication: September 27 2022
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Pages: 314 (Hardcover)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Middle Grade, Contemporary
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:

Riley Henderson has never taken a bus to school in her entire life. Or made an afterschool snack, or finished her homework on her own, or—ewww—done her own laundry. That’s what her older brother Devin was for.
But now Devin’s gone. He’s off in California attending a fancy college gaming program while Riley is stuck alone in Florida with her mom. That is, until a cool nerd named Lucy gives Riley no choice but to get over her shyness and fear of rejection and become friends. The best part is . . . both girls are into Dungeons & Dragons. In fact, playing D&D was something Riley and Devin used to do together, with Devin as the dungeon master, guiding Riley through his intricately planned campaigns. So, of course, Riley is more than a little nervous when Lucy suggests that she run a campaign for them. For the chance at a friend, though, she’s willing to give it a shot. Soon, their party grows and with the help of her new D&D friends, Riley discovers that not only can she function without Devin, she kind of likes it. She figures out that bus thing, totes the clothes down to the laundry room and sets up her D&D campaigns right there on the slightly suspect folding table, makes her own snacks and dinner— the whole deal. But when Devin runs into trouble with his program and returns home, it’s pretty clear, even to Riley, that since he can’t navigate his own life, he’s going to live Riley’s for her. Now she has to help Devin go back to college and prove to her mom that she can take care of herself . . . all before the upcoming Winter-Con.
It’s time to Roll for Initiative.