The Plot: Julia is short in stature and when her mother pushes her to join a summer stock theater production of The Wizard of Oz, she is naturally cast as one of the Munchkins. Julia’s initial resistance to being in the play attenuates as she meets and becomes enamored by other members of the cast. She learns the details of how to put on a quality production and finds herself falling in love with theater. As the summer progresses, Julia finds that she has done an awful lot of growing on the inside, even if she is so short.

My Take: Wow, I loved this book! I really admired Holly Goldberg Sloan’s ability to craft interesting characters in her book Counting By 7’s and she has outdone herself in this novel. I loved the character of Julia, the director Shawn Barr, her professional acting friend Olivia, and everyone else in this story. Julia is an incredibly funny narrator, without intending to be, and I literally laughed out loud several times, something that I almost never do while reading.

This book is unique because there are no major conflicts but I really felt that the story moved right along. We watch Julia navigate growing up over a summer through her interesting point of view and this really is enough. A lesser writer would probably be tempted to up the stakes on Julia’s life–perhaps throw a dead parent in the plot or make Julia a foster child– but Holly Goldberg Sloan clearly knows what she’s doing.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a middle grade read about self-discovery.

One Interesting Note About The Author: Holly Goldberg Sloan mentions in several interviews that she often writes about actors and acting because she has experience as a screenwriter and working with actors.