Line #39 Literature/DramaSeries


1	''DRAMA!'' is a book series by [[http://paulruditis.com/index.shtml Paul Ruditis]].
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3	Orion Academy is just your average American high school—except for the waterfall in the lobby. And the fully functional observatory. And the fact that the theatre department is regularly featured on ''Entertainment Tonight''. Okay, so maybe ''average'' isn’t the right word. Located in Malibu, California, Orion is where Hollywood’s A-listers send their offspring to be educated. Egos are big, tempers run high, and gossip spreads faster than a speeding bullet.
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5	In the middle of it all is Bryan Stark, theatre geek and narrator extraordinaire. Compared to most of his classmates, Bryan seems almost normal; his parents aren’t famous and they’re only somewhat affluent. But somehow he always gets caught up in the drama. Together with his two best friends, aspiring actress Sam and budding writer Hope, Bryan battles evil classmates, cruel directors, and his own inner demons. Along for the ride are Sam’s new love interest, Eric, and Hope’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Drew, who also happens to be Bryan’s ex-best friend for reasons that aren’t explained until the very end.
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7	The series consists of four books:
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9	* ''The Four Dorothys''
10	* ''Everyone’s a Critic''
11	* ''Show, Don’t Tell''
12	* ''Entrances and Exits''
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14	The first two books were recently rereleased in one volume called ''The Devil's in the Diva.''
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16	!!This series provides examples of:
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18	* AlphaBitch: Holly Mayflower.
19	* AmbiguouslyJewish: Subverted when Bryan explicitly states that he ''might'' be part Jewish.
20	* ApologizesALot: Belinda
21	* BoobBasedGag: Hope jokes about her own "formidable" chest at every opportunity, "if only to beat everyone else to the punchline."
22	* CampGay: Marq
23	* ComingOutStory: ''Show, Don't Tell'' is basically this for Bryan.
24	* DeadpanSnarker: Practically everyone, but especially Bryan.
25	* [[spoiler:FirstGirlWins: Or, in this case, first guy.]]
26	* FirstKiss: Sam implies that Bryan can’t understand her complicated love life because he’s never been kissed. [[spoiler: Later, he reveals to her that he actually has—and it was ''way'' more dramatic than anything she’s experienced.]]
27	* {{Gayngst}}: Averted, subverted, and played straight (no pun intended) by various characters throughout.
28	* GirlPosse: Holly, Alexis, and Belinda
29	* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Heather and Holly Mayflower; Hope and her stepsisters.
30	* HiddenDepths: ''Everyone.''
31	* HighSchool (obviously)
32	* IconicItem: Bryan’s fedora
33	* IncompatibleOrientation: It turns out that Suze has a thing for Bryan. [[spoiler: And there’s a reason Hope and Drew are always having relationship problems.]]
34	* InfoDump: The first few chapters of ''The Four Dorothys'' are quite exposition-heavy as Bryan has to introduce everyone, not to mention explain why four girls are sharing the role of Dorothy in his school’s production of ''Film/TheWizardofOz''.
35	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: After Bryan gently turns him down, Gary immediately tracks down Drew and tells him that Bryan wants to talk to him.]]
36	* JerkJock: Subverted in that Eric is arguably the nicest character in the whole series. Played straight by Jax, a minor character in the first book.
37	* KarmaHoudini: The Mayflower sisters never face any real consequences for their actions thanks to their obscenely rich and powerful father.
38	* LampshadeHanging: Bryan does this all the time.
39	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Every chapter is named after a well-known play or musical. And, of course, ''Entrances and Exits'' is from Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
40	* PrecisionFStrike: Bryan is shocked when Belinda, who usually never curses, calls her own sister a bitch.
41	* RunningGag: Bryan making up ridiculous explanations for his dad’s frequent business trips
42	* SadClown: Bryan is a mild version of this. Although he seems remarkably well-adjusted at first, it slowly becomes clear that he has some significant baggage and that his snarkiness is at least partly a defense mechanism.
43	* ShoutOut: Tons of them
44	* ShowWithinAShow: Every book features at least one performance by the aspiring actors. Most of these are real plays, like ''The Wizard of Oz'', but the last book features Bryan directing a one-act written by Hope.
45	* StageMom: Mrs. Finberg
46	* StraightGay: [[spoiler: Drew]]
47	* SupportingProtagonist: Bryan starts out as one of these, but he becomes the focus more and more as the series goes on. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] repeatedly.
48	* TheirFirstTime: [[spoiler: Sam eventually loses her virginity to Eric.]]
49	* TransparentCloset: No one but poor Suze seems at all surprised when Bryan finally comes out.

Context Literature / DramaSeries