Time to Party

Dungeon Club #2

by Lee Knox Ostertag, Xanthe Bouma (Illustrator)

The party continues but the problems get bigger in this second installment of this original Dungeons & Dragons graphic novel series brought to you by New York Times bestselling author Molly Knox Ostertag and critically acclaimed illustrator Xanthe Bouma.

Olivia loves being the Dungeon Master of her after-school club, creating a world with magic and epic battles with adventure around every corner. She’s always felt at home in her game, but now—with new members and new plotlines—her world has gotten more complicated than ever.

It doesn’t help when Olivia’s older sister, Lu, comes home from college and brushes off all Olivia’s hard work, telling her to get real. A seed of doubt is planted, and suddenly the colorful world of her game starts to fade around her. Will Olivia be able to keep everything from changing, or will the party fall apart?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Fantasy, LGBT, Comics, Queer, Fiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 9, 2024

About the author

I grew up in the forests of upstate New York, where I spent the first half of my childhood reading about fantastical adventures and the second half acting them out with foam swords at a live action roleplaying camp . I graduated in 2014 from the School of Visual Arts, where I studied cartooning and illustration, and I currently live in Los Angeles. My artistic interests include women in fiction, fantasy and sci fi, superheroes, and history.

I illustrate a twice weekly webcomic called Strong Female Protagonist with co-creator Brennan Lee Mulligan, which was listed as one of io9's Best New and Short Webcomics when it launched in 2012. I ran a successful Kickstarter in the summer of 2014 to print the first volume, which was distributed by Top Shelf comics and is now available in stores and online.

I'm currently working on a graphic novel with First Second named Shattered Warrior, coming out in Spring 2017.

Reviews

[Jenna-booklooksbyjenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

i gotta stop reading books on planes that make me cry.

[the tortured poets department · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually illegal that I don't have a book 3 in my hands rn

[Andrew Eder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be one of my favorite dnd graphic novels! I love the mix of real life drama and game play drama! I also love how most of the time it truly sticks to dnd rules and such. Great writing!!

[lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

so so excellent! the characters are adorable and this volume gave me everything i wanted, from individual growth to relationship development. the way d&d is used as both a bonding experience and a metaphor is super entertaining.

Molly Knox Ostertag is a graphic novel legend in the making, and i think Xanthe Bouma’s illustration work is genuinely unparalleled (see also: the Five Worlds series).

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so much! Molly Knox Ostertag just never misses, and I love this series about these kids finding themselves and friendship through D&D. I love the gender journey one of characters goes on, as well as the friendships that form over the course of this volume. I can't wait for the next one!

[Emma Presnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 I need them to never stop making these I LOVE

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

can't wait for my 3rd grade bestie to read this so we can talk about it

[theleighbrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.9 ⭐️

What a super, cute story about playing the game they love and that game encouraging them to be their truest selves. ❤️

[Anna Thomiasdotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Så fin skildring av betydelsen av att hänge sig åt nördiga aktiviteter och att det ibland är lättare att leva ut och vara sig själv i rollspelens alternativa världar än i den riktiga. ❤️

[hope h.]

i think this was even better than the first - just so cute and lovely and full of heart <3 i really love the parallel drama of the d&d storyline and the characters' real life friendships and also the CHARACTER DESIGN!!! the art in general is just so adorable and lively, this really warmed my heart. a fantastic feel good read perfect for a summer afternoon :)

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a bit more than Roll Call. I hope this series continues, I love the way narrative balances between the characters in the game and the players in their own lives. Two-tons of fun!

[Paz Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

De verdad que los libros de Molly Knox son mi lugar seguro y serian el lugar seguro de mi yo adolescente. Siempre me dejan el corazón calentito.

[Kate Hockman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t care if it’s for children, I’m obsessed

[Chaitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so engaging... I love all of them...♥ Its so cute watching them find themselves... Ahhhh!!! their friendship... Wholesome ✨🫶

[Kennedy Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot in the game and in the characters’ life is so good! I can’t put the book down!

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former D&D DM, I know how hard it is to make a story up on the spot. Having to create a world changing event or kill off a character without a flinch can be all consuming. So I feel for Olivia.

The Dungeon Club is back in this amazing sequel to Roll Call and we have 2 new characters. Joining Olivia, Jess and Tyler are two people we met in book 1, but they weren’t MC’s at the time. Sam and Sammi are best friends and no stranger to the stage, seeing as how they’re both in theater. Asking them to join the club was a no brainer.

In this book, the D&D portion of the story has a climactic cliffhanger that ends the book, leaving us wondering how the team will get out of the pickle they’ve found themselves in. We also got some new character development with one of the MC’s coming to the realization that they are non-binary and two of the other ones having a bit of a flirty relationship that seems to be going somewhere… hopefully.

I’m really enjoying the growth from each of the books and for a middle grade graphic novel, this is really beautiful progression. It’s turning very queer, very quickly and I’m here for it!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time to Party is a bit of a step down from its predecessor in that it feels more generic, yet another "teens play D&D to find their identities" narrative. Everyone in the club is growing and changing, and two new additions to the party add complexities to both the D&D narrative and the real-world friendships.

I found Olivia's narrative most engaging this time around as she struggles with the storytelling responsibilities of DMing. Her sister is home from college and appears to be "all grown up," which causes Olivia to worry that she's growing up too - and D&D, of course, is not grown-up stuff. The other characters also mix their D&D characters' traits with real-world events, though in obvious ways (Tyler is shy, but his character is outgoing; Jess is a girl, but their (!) character is boy). It's all well-paced and engaging with delightful art, but there are simply fewer surprises in the narrative this time around.

[J.D. Holman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, a sequel can be better than the first.

This is definitely such a series.

Maybe it's the tabaxi (cat-person), whose in-game introduction is purrfect, or just the addition of more players. Or it could be that the "real-life" plot elements seemed more realistically feasible and manageable this time.

I'm also a sucker for "friendship is magic" themes in role-playing game stories.

The art continues to be superb, and the main and main-supporting characters feel believable. (The side characters of Olivia's family and the bullies could stand to be fleshed out more.)

Horray for character growth and development, too!

Love the D&D story's cliffhanger. I would like more books in this series, yes please.

[Valerie Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I've always had a world in my head"

ahhhh I am loving this series so much! The details really make the story and the conflicts, relationships, and character arcs are so real and natural. It's really cool seeing how great both the campaign story and the real story are, how balanced they are with page space, and especially when they overlap a bit as is true to every campaign I've been in. I also want to be Ms. Brehse soooo badly. A critical success of a series <3

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The color palette and art is so nice! I love the illustration on page 10. The friendships are so sweet and also I love Olivia’s outfits. I got annoyed with how common the sweat bead drawn on everyone is. In volume 1 as well, it just happens too much. But I really enjoyed these books, they’re so captivating and easy to read! This one also ended really fast but I look forward to volume 3.

[Cassandra Hamm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really love this art style. Also, great characters, great emotional journeys. Honestly way better than the first one with the addition of Sam and Sammi as a regular part of the cast. I also really like Olivia’s struggle with creative burnout. Also, the librarian is great. Love the depictions of positive adults in kids’ lives.

[Melanie Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So wonderful, please write more in this series, my tween son loves them and I love them too.

[Grace Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

actually in tears, this was so amazing. really hoping there’s another in the works!

[Ruben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t you just love it when the sequel is even better?

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is lovely. More complicated than the first volume, but the added characters are well crafted and the whole thing reeks of heart. Deeply felt and sweet.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent made up story about a made up story about how kids of all ages grow into their authentic selves.

[Eliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dungeon Club: Time to Party
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ (4/5) or 8.42/10 overall

Characters - 8

Atmosphere - 9

Writing - 8

Plot - 9

Intrigue - 8

Logic - 8

Enjoyment - 9

[AR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe even better than the first one? Just so sweet. The type of story I wish I could’ve had when I was younger.

[Jonas H · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[౨ৎ Brooke ౨ৎ {Sharpay’s version} · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked it better than the first book.