I think I'm getting too far past having young kids to reliably rate middle-grade books anymore. It was okay, but I didn't love it. The narrator's voice (audio book) was a little grating.

Julia sounds so REAL. Her motivations and reactions to the adventure of a summer spent in the Oz of theater ring so true. Holly Goldberg Sloan writes one spot-on sentence after another and all of them are pitch perfect for middle grade. I don't know how she gets so MUCH great stuff into the story without feeling bogged down. A fun book, full of life, wit, and flying!

A few of my favorite quotes:
About her piano lessons:
"Once I figured out that Mrs. Sookram liked talking about music better than listening to me hit the wrong keys, the lessons were more under control."

After she tapes dog hair to a scrapbook page:
"It's really not very attractive."

Why she has no time for summer theater:
"'What about my summer? What about thinking about Ramon [pet dog] whenever I want, and writing letters to Kaylee and Piper?' I still haven't done any actual letter writing, but I did start a drawing and if it turns out to be any good I was going to send that."

After an inspiring speech by the theater director:
". . .I realize, some part of me--a big part on the inside--must want to be here, because right now _not_ being in the show feels like it would be terrible."
"That's when I decide that this is going to be the summer when the little people call the shots."

About Dad's family scrapbooks:
"This means that he gets to figure out what's important for us to remember."

One pet peeve: As an epidemiologist, I wish she wouldn't have highlighted the smoking of a role model character. ( )

children's fiction; middle-grade and younger (Julia is maybe in 4th or 5th grade, but kids could probably identify her as young as 2nd or 3rd grade). Diversity notes: people with dwarfism; a good number of people with different skin colors and names reflecting non-white heritage. I loved spending time with these characters, almost read this in one sitting, and laughed aloud many times. I had great expectations for this book just from the name of the author (I would recommend anything by Holly Goldberg Sloan, even without having read it first), and was not disappointed in the least. Lots of laughs, tons of heart, a hefty dose of stage magic, and a very satisfying story. ( )

Very funny and touching book about finding your passion and growing up. I laughed out loud in many places. The author has a great way with humor! ( )

The main character Julia Marks is the shortest person in her family and feels she is not good at anything. That all changes when she meets a women with dwarfism and realizes she is good enough for anything. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because I could not see myself using it in a math classroom. Short is a great story and encourages students that they can do anything no matter who they are. ( )