Chang and the show’s director Sean Barr, because they didn’t seem that “old” to her.Ĭlassroom application: This is definitely a book for middle grade students as I think students older than 8th grade would share my annoyance at Julia’s naïveté. I liked how shocked she was to learn the age of some of the elderly characters in the book, like her neighbor Mrs. Similar to Counting by 7s, Julia makes several friendships with characters across generations.

While the shows I was a part of did not include any professionals, many of the high school students involved in my performances were extremely talented and many did go on to become professionals. My school district ran a similar summer program from grades 4-12 and I have wonderful memories of participating and I completely understood Julia’s awe of the older performers involved. The plot centers around performing in a summer musical, which I could personally relate to.

This is not the first time I’ve had this suspicion, but I think it is interesting to think about how hearing a character’s voice can impact our overall enjoyment of a book. In all fairness, I did listen to this on audiobook and some of my annoyance with the narrator (and as a result my mild distaste for the book) could be due to the voice of the audiobook’s narrator. Why I liked it: Shortis by the Holly Goldberg Sloan, who also wrote Counting by 7s, which I enjoyed more than this book.

Short by holly goldberg sloan audiobook