THIS IS HOW WE ROLL!

A short story compilation at the intersection of queerness and tabletop role-playing games.

In each of the 12 stories, the author explores one of the ways that TTRPGs can affect the lives of queer young people and teach them to tell their own stories. The entries are heartwarming, and they vary greatly in content, touching on themes of friendship, mental health, identity, coming out, and neurodiversity—naturally, there are also a number of fluttery romances. Some characters’ races and ethnicities are cued or explicitly described, adding additional diversity. The writing quality varies noticeably, with some stories being genuine tearjerkers and others failing to make an impression; a few would have benefited from editing to smooth out bumpy bits. The high points include “Camp I” by Jamie Pacton, set in a Catholic girls’ summer camp; “Oathbreaker” by Andrew Joseph White, in which a transgender paladin loses his god but regains his dad; and the final story, “Always a Merchant, Never a Rogue” by Akemi Dawn Bowman, which ties everything together. The overwhelming majority of the stories focus on games based on Dungeons & Dragons; readers may wish for more intentional exploration of the myriad other TTRPGs in existence. Many of the authors authentically capture the experience of listening to someone describe their D&D campaign—which, unfortunately, is less fun than actually playing. Although readers who need it will surely find this book affirming, they likely will not find it very memorable overall.

Fails to roll a critical success.