Graphic Novel Review: Sunny Rolls the Dice

Posted on September 12, 2019 at 9:00 am by Gene Ambaum

Sunny Rolls the Dice by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm. Scholastic Graphix, 2019. 9781338233155. 224pp.

This is the third of the semi-autobiographical Sunny graphic novels from the siblings Holm, and it’s by far my favorite.

1977, Pennsylvania. Sunny is becoming obsessed with teen culture, in particular with magazines that rate her on the groovy meter and from which, after taking a quiz, she knows she is “not groovy.” She also loves comics and Dungeons & Dragons, which she starts playing with friends. (Her human fighter’s name is Aleta the Brave.) At some point her desire to be groovy leads her to stop playing D&D which makes her unhappy (at least until she figures out that that was a bad move).

I think older grade school aged kids will love this book, but since I grew up in the 70s, this is pure nostalgia for me: bugbears, gelatinous cubes, off-brand action figures, roller skating, and pining for my very own Monster Manual. (I never got one, but Jennifer Holm apparently did.)