LitPick Review
Other People’s Drama is a book following Brandon Filips in his junior year of high school. This is a continuation of Brandon’s story from Other People’s Crazy, which follows Brandon through a difficult period of his life with bullies and a rabid dog. Now, however, Brandon’s life has done a complete 180 from last year. No longer is Brandon the shy kid with no friends, but now, Brandon has a girlfriend and an oddball best friend whose best traits are his height and his humor. He’s a lead character in the school’s play and has gained a lot of self-confidence since last year. Brandon uses this self-confidence to encourage and protect those who might not always be the most welcomed in their classrooms and neighborhoods. In this book, Author Gregory Fletcher touches upon the drama which might arise for a high-school-aged teenager while also including some deeper tones, such as topics of immigration and Covid, but in a way that isn’t very off-putting. I would recommend this book for anyone ages 12 and up, or for anyone who might want to encourage their kids or friends to become more accepting of others who might not be like them.
Opinion:
This book is set up as fictional, but is written to portray realism in our modern world using real objects and names. For example, places like a Fry’s Marketplace and the Mesa Art Museum or even brands like Entemann’s donuts are some examples of the ‘real world’ in this book. Brandon is this super wholesome character that just makes you fall in love with him and have hope for humanity. On top of that, the other characters weren’t thrown to the background and tabled, but they were also given their own mini arcs and I was able to really root for some of them to continue growing as people. There were parts of this book that were a little immersion-breaking, but as a whole, I really loved this book. It’s not the longest read, but none of it felt rushed or slow. I think it was well-paced and written in a way that made me just want to continue reading and rooting for the characters to get their happy endings. I cannot wait to read book 3, and I hope that this review might sway your opinions and make you want to read this fun series.
