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One of the first times I read a YA book featuring a tabletop roleplaying game–and specifically, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)–it was 2011. The book, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern, follows a girl named Jessie whose friendships are in flux. When Jessie’s invited to hang out with a new girl who loves to play D&D, she’s a little worried that hanging out with the D&D crowd would label her a nerd. What Jessie ultimately finds though is that “nerd” isn’t a disparaging label. It’s a mark of honor, and she finds that she enjoys hanging out and playing games with a new crew.
That would be the last book featuring D&D I read for a while. It’s not that D&D disappeared completely. It’s that both my reading habits and the available books didn’t necessarily include much exploration of tabletop roleplaying. D&D rarely showed up much, especially in realistic fiction. We’ve also seen better “nerd” representation emerging over the last decade and a half. More and more teens both within the pages of YA and in the world at large have taken it as a badge of honor.
But over the last year or so, there’s been a swell of D&D appearing within the pages of young adult literature. Sometimes, it’s a game that the main character loves to play; sometimes, it’s a reference point; still in other times, it’s a bit of both or something all together different. These are books that aren’t part of the Intellectual Property or franchise of Dungeons and Dragons. They’re titles where the game shows up as part of the story or character development.
Let’s roll the D20 and play in the world of recent YA books and short stories featuring Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve included books published in the last couple of years, and the genre array is so fun to see–there’s fantasy, there’s romance, there’s realistic fiction, and there are short stories aplenty. The field of YA featuring Dungeons and Dragons is also more inclusive than might be expected, though certainly we can hope it continues to grow even more diverse.
Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel
Xavier Oaks is spending a week at the cabin with his dad and pregnant step mom. He’s not excited about it, but he’ll deal. It’s only a week, anyway.
Except when Xavier wakes up the next morning, the cabin has been moved. It’s somewhere else entirely. That’s when he, his dad, and his stepmom discover they’re inside of a dome. There’s no one around and no indication of what’s going on.
Three years later, another family arrives. Now, they’re even more confused and uncertain of what’s going on or how they may ever escape.
Xavier is a big fan of playing Dungeons and Dragons, and it shows up in the story several times.
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Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee
Brenda’s determined to change the world through her scientific mind, but when her internet goes out right before a major scholarship deadline, she makes her way to Kat’s family’s cafe to get things done. Immediately, she’s smitten with Kat, who is everything cool and confident that she herself is not. Kat’s caught feelings, too–and Kat’s especially glad Brenda doesn’t care that Kat’s future involves becoming The Chosen One.
There’s one big–like, really big–problem. Kat and Brenda are from different universes. So when their worlds do collide, things begin to spiral in ways neither of them could imagine.
Brenda’s our Dungeons and Dragons player.
Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce
Riley loves musicals, and her goal is to become a director on Broadway. She knows getting a role in the school’s spring musical is crucial. But when Riley doesn’t get permission before borrowing her mom’s car, she’s grounded. She’ll be forced to work at her dad’s game shop as a punishment.
Riley doesn’t have time for this, of course. She’s got the musical. So she’ll convince one of the other employees to cover her shifts in exchange for flirting with him. This will help him get the attention of his crush…maybe.
Maybe because it may be that Riley starts to catch some real feelings for Nathan, thanks to some intense games of Dungeons & Dragons.
Boyce’s 2025 release Dating and Dragons also features the game.
“Game Night” by Darcie Little Badger in Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In
Little Badger’s short story in this collection of interconnected, intertribal stories, follows a group of Native teens who bond online over Dungeons and Dragons.
Roll for Love by M.K. England
Harper Reid’s life has been completely upended after the death of her grandfather. She’s moved across country to a rural farm–one where she spent summers growing up–and the Dungeons & Dragons campaign she was engaged in is, well, no longer one she’s part of.
Harper didn’t anticipate running into Ollie Shifflet, her old bestie, once she moved. But she did, and she’s been invited to take part in a new D&D campaign with Ollie and her friends.
There is immediate tension of the romantic sort building between Harper and Ollie’s characters in the campaign. It’s only there though, for sure. At least, that’s what Harper tells herself. It’s possible that Harper, who is trying to be out and proud in her new town, and Ollie, who knows she needs to keep her bisexuality quiet to protect herself, are going to have to acknowledge those game-based feelings are more than just imaginary.
This Is How We Roll edited by Rosiee Thor
Last but not least, how about a whole anthology of stories for teens about the joys and challenges of tabletop role playing games. This isn’t entirely Dungeons and Dragons, of course, but that does feature heavily throughout this collection of 14 stories. Among the contributors are Andrew Joseph White, Marieke Nijkamp, Akemi Dawn Bowman, and more.
A few more titles that fit the theme include Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner, Losing Hit Points by Kristopher Mielke, and Who We Are In Real Life by Victoria Koops.