I received this book for free from @theshelfstuff in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my ownAll opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Disclosure here.
Reading age
8-12
Genre
GN – Fantasy
Publisher
HarperAlley
Publication date
November 29, 2022
A daring roller-coaster story about a girl who needs to broaden her horizons.
Jess and Olivia had been friends for years, connecting with their favorite game, Dungeons & Dragons ( a fantasy roleplaying game where imagination ruled). It’s the first day of 8th grade, and things are changing a bit. Olivia wants to make a club of D&D, but Jess doesn’t want to. Will Jess cope with new people joining in their adventure?
Roll Call gave me a peek into the personal life of an 8th grader facing many challenges. I loved the original idea of a board game that represents what a character wants to be. The sessions of D&D are a fantastical world I’d love to visit. The monsters were lurking, and the magic was fun and way too cool. Does such an unbelievable game exist? Hopefully so!
Jess has a lot to learn about making new friends. She is a highly introverted girl, so she was pretty shy about making friends other than Olivia. On the other hand, Olivia was an outgoing girl who was okay with making new friends. She is the kind of girl everyone would love.
I was not too fond of Sir Corius (Jess’ character in D&D); I found her as a self-centered character at first, but she quickly evolved throughout the story.
The art was terrific, and I loved how the author drew Sunny (one of the characters in the game). The palette was a more down-to-earth color, and the style was cartoon styled.
The theme of Roll Call is to be more lenient in making new friends. I recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and a good middle-grade drama.
My rating
More by the author
- The Witch Boy; Please read my review here.
