Who We Are in Real Life

Gr 8 Up–Darcy is struggling to adjust to her new school after moving from the city to small town Unity Creek, where one of her moms accepted a job as the town doctor. Leaving her friends and boyfriend is hard enough, but dealing with the homophobia in Unity Creek is difficult for Darcy, who is bisexual and whose moms face discrimination because of their sexuality. The one good thing about the move is Art, a sweet and shy boy in Darcy’s English class, who shares her love of Dungeons & Dragons and invites her to join his friends’ campaign. But when Darcy’s goal of starting a Queer-Straight Alliance at school is sidelined by Art’s conservative father, Art must prove he has the courage to support Darcy, especially when her long-distance boyfriend’s erratic and abusive behavior threatens their budding relationship. Chapters alternate between Darcy and Art’s perspectives and are intermixed with passages from their ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaign. This endearing romance features Darcy learning to extricate herself from an unhealthy relationship and build queer community in her new town and shines when the protagonists begin to bring the strengths of their Dungeons & Dragons characters into real life.