See Book List Kristy Boyce
I’ve always been a bit suspicious of people who claim they don’t have a “thing.” You know the type—they say they like “all kinds of music” or “whatever’s on TV.” It’s not true, obviously. Everyone has a secret, slightly embarrassing obsession that involves specialized terminology and probably a specific type of footwear. For me, it’s Opera (don’t ask); for Kristy Boyce’s characters, it’s usually a mix of Shakespearean monologues and twenty-sided dice.
And honestly? We’re all the better for it.
The Travel Log (or: How to Fall in Love While Being Culturally Confused)
Boyce has made a career out of sending teenagers to Europe to find themselves, which is a lot more productive than what I did at seventeen (mostly finding new ways to fail Algebra II).
In Hot British Boyfriend, we get the classic “I’ve been publicly humiliated so I’m moving to England” pivot. It’s a bold strategy. It involves Ellie navigating the social minefields of a British boarding school while trying to figure out if she wants the boy who looks like a prince or the one who actually knows how to talk to her. (Spoiler: It’s rarely the prince. Life is funny that way.) Then there’s Hot Dutch Daydream, which involves Amsterdam, art, and bikes. Boyce makes riding a bike in a European city look like a cinematic masterpiece.
Then we have the heavy hitter: Dungeons and Drama. It’s currently a nominee for the 2026-27 Missouri Gateway Book Award, which is a very fancy way of saying “this book is really good.” The plot is a classic fake-dating setup—Riley (theater nerd) and Nathan (gaming nerd) strike a deal to help her sneak off to rehearsals. It’s basically a high-stakes heist involving a cape and a character sheet. It’s charming, it’s witty, and it captures that specific brand of teenage desperation that feels like the world is ending because you might miss a curtain call.
The “Finding Your People” Problem
If there’s a “golden thread” here—aside from “nerds are actually the coolest people in the room”—it’s the idea that performing is exhausting.
Boyce’s characters are almost always wearing a mask (sometimes literally, if there’s a costume involved). They spend half the book trying to be the version of themselves they think the world wants to see. The “twist” in every story—the gentle punchline—is that the moment they stop acting and start being their weird, authentic selves, everything actually starts working. It’s a lesson most of us don’t learn until we’re sixty (or so) and realize no one was looking at our shoes anyway.
Why She Does It (The “Dr. Boyce” Factor)
Kristy isn’t just making this stuff up for the vibes. She’s a senior lecturer in psychology at The Ohio State University, which means she understands why we’re all so socially anxious.
She writes from a place of lived experience—she was the theater kid; she was the one rolling dice on a Friday night. She met her husband because he was the Dungeon Master. (Which is basically the ultimate romantic meet-cute if you’re into math and storytelling.) She’s on a mission to show that the things we think make us “outsiders” are actually the things that lead us to our best people.
The Part Where You Do Something
If you’re looking for a gift for a teenager—or if you’re a grown-up who still remembers the visceral fear of a bad theater audition—go grab Boyce’s stuff. Her latest, Rolls and Rivalry, is out now, and it’s a delight.
So, here’s my question for the road: What was your nerdy gateway “thing?” Was it theater? Model trains? Collecting stamps that featured famous bridges? Don’t be shy. We’re all friends here.