The Four Dorothys (Drama!) [Paperback]

Paul Ruditis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Drama! | Publication Date: February 6, 2007

Every performance needs a little scandal and . . .

DRAMA!

Spawned from Hollywood's A-list glitterati, nearly every student at the exclusive Orion Academy is a singer, dancer, model, or actor -- with the ego to match. So how do you fit so many budding stars into one school musical?

Multi-cast, of course. It's a Wizard of Oz like no other: four Dorothys, two Scarecrows, two Glindas, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Every "star" gets a moment in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Bryan Stark, narrator extraordinaire, needs to shed some light on a more scandalous plot. Dorothys are mysteriously dropping out of the show, one after the other. If Bryan doesn't figure out why, there may be no one left to click her heels by opening night. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Malibu, California's exclusive Orion Academy is a high school with "a ton of Future Media Moguls of America." Given the highly ambitious students (and powerful parents), school-play auditions are so political that administrators are pressured to cast four separate actresses as Dorothy in the school's upcoming The Wizard of Oz. Brian, a student "on the periphery of popularity," chronicles show week, during which suspicious events threaten each Dorothy's participation in the play. Ruditis, author of the highly publicized Rainbow Party (2006), offers a more developed story here. Brian's breezy, sometimes bawdy voice will draw teens with spot-on descriptions like "Abercrombie Zombies" and "adorkable." Brian is gay and closeted, and his refreshing, light approach to his secret will also appeal to many readers: "None of my friends have announced to me that they're straight. Until they do that, I don't see much point in making some grand declaration of my own." The first title in the Drama! series, this should pull fans of the Gossip Girls books and Dyan Sheldon's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (1999). Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Paul Ruditis has written more than thirty books based on some of the most popular shows on television, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, The West Wing, and Alias. He is also the author of an original fiction series for teens, DRAMA!, and the novel, Love, Hollywood Style. He lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Original edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416933913
• ISBN-13: 978-1416933915
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,486,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Ruditis has written over 30 books based some of the best shows on TV, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, The West Wing, Alias, and Prison Break. While he continues to work on these media tie-ins, he has also focused a great deal of attention on his own original fiction, including his teen series DRAMA! and the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy Love, Hollywood Style. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DRAMA! The Four Dorothy's, April 16, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Four Dorothys (Drama!) (Paperback)

The Four Dorothy's by Paul Ruditis is a book about a high school's production of the Wizard of Oz. This book is set in Orion Academy. The narrator of the book is a student at this school and his name is Bryan Stark and he plays one of the Scarecrows in the school's musical. He has a best friend named Sam who also goes to this school. Sam is a very talented girl and plays one of the Dorothy's. Sam and Bryan both have a friend named Hope who plays one of the Glinda's. This book is slow starting but gets more interesting as you read on. The Dorothy's start mysteriously dropping out of the play and Bryan decides to investigate. He knows someone is up to no good and he's going to find out who it is. Will there be any Dorothy's left by opening night. Read the book and find out.

My favorite scene in the book is when Sam is about to have to drop out of the play. I like this scene because there's a lot of action and fighting between two of the Dorothy's. Bryan and Sam believe that she is being framed and they think they know who's behind it all.

I thought this book was pretty good. Like I said it started slow but got better later on. I would recommend this book to friends because I know most of them would like it and it's about things that we do too. I thought that it was just the right reading level for me. It wasn't too hard and it wasn't too easy for me to read. I think that if I were to look back and try and remember this book that I would remember how the narrator acted and his personality. If you like realistic fiction and books about school life and things that you do a lot, then this the book for you.

2.0 out of 5 stars For a Book Titled Drama, It Really Needs Some More Drama, July 15, 2011

By 

Ax20 "Ax20" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Four Dorothys (Drama!) (Paperback)

Bryan Stark attends Orion Academy where all the students are talent-filled and ego-ridden. When the school puts on only one theatrical performance per year and is jam-packed with skilled kids (or at least, powerful parents), how do you make sure every kid shines? Naturally, you have multiple kids play each part. Orion is putting on the Wizard of Oz, with two Glinda's, two Scarecrows, and most importantly, four Dorothys. But when the girls playing Dorothy start being sabotaged, Bryan has to figure out who is sabotaging the Dorothys before his friend Sam becomes the next victim.

When i first saw this book, all I could think was, Glee? My friend and I joked about how it must be the same story until I became curious enough to actually find out. Glee turned out to be superior. There is more heart behind the stories of Glee than there are here. These are sort of fun, mindless stories that are good to kill a bit of time.

Bryan is a closeted gay teen, but the story is hardly about this. In fact, he is mostly a bystander in this entire book, which is a little irritating. His gay storyline could be interesting but since it is a non-player in the book it ultimately doesn't do much. (I'm fine with there being no drama surrounding the fact that he is gay, but he has kept this fact a secret which means there is, at least in his mind, some issues with it which go unaddressed.)

My biggest complaint is that there was no real twist. It became clear who the culprit was very early on and we were never surprised to find that the person we (and Bryan) expected was innocent. Sure, the lesson you can take from that is that some people are exactly as evil as they seem, but it doesn't make for a great story.

Ultimately, it isn't a book that I would recommend but I've read worse.

4.0 out of 5 stars I rather enjoyed this bit of teen lit....., July 25, 2010

By 

Anthony Braxton "WorldTeacherMan" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Four Dorothys (Drama!) (Paperback)

I spent the last 20 years as a middle school teacher and administrator and I still pepper my reading with a piece of adolescent literature now and then. I bought this book for that reason and also because it was tagged as gay literature also. I'm always interested to see if there is another piece of admirable and inclusive literature for teen readers. This book is one. Definitely will appeal to kids with some sense of wit and sas and drama kids will like it. It does a nice job of telling part of their story. Nothing to raise any eyebrows (although - I am not the best judge - it takes a lot to raise my eyebrows). No sex, drugs, or rock and roll. The references to music all are sourced in the world of theater and one who is up on their contemporary musical theater (Defying Gravity from Wicked is one of the teen's ring tones)as well as references to Shelly Winter's in the Titanic. I only know two groups of people who can traverse these worlds... and as teens. Theater kids and gay kids. Fact is the high school drama world is a safe haven for gay teens (see When the Drama Club is Not Enough: Lessons from the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students). There is a gay character but his sexuality is a minor player in the drama of Drama. The book really is just a fun romp through the teen world - much like one might expect on an episode of one of Disney Channel's for teen and pre-teen comedies like (I'm about to date myself - as there more be more current titles ) That's so Raven (that was a Disney show.. right) or from back in the day "Saved by the Bell." The book is witty and fun and presents a plot that is fairly predictable. It touches on a few social issues (why does a kid who fully accepts his gayness not come out of the closet and will the girl without all the money be able to prosper in a school full of highly privileged and wealthy kids?) I know there are at least four books in this series. I've got the next one and I'll read it soon... Everyone's a Critic (Drama!)). Mr. Ruditis is quite a nice writer of teen fiction.