Upstaged

Seventh-grader Shira Gordon is painfully shy. She hardly says a word during school, but when she is alone in her room, she sings and dances as if she were a Broadway star. When her music teacher announces that everyone in the class will be auditioning for the musical The Music Man, Shira is terrified, but also secretly hopes she will get in. When she gets the part of a member of the barbershop quartet, she finds herself with some new supportive friends, a new crush, and a mustache to hide behind. Shira and everyone else discovers she has perfect pitch and a beautiful voice, but that doesn’t sit well with the female lead, the petulant and full-of-herself Monica, especially when Shira is assigned to understudy the role of Marion. Drama ensues.

Diana Harmon Asher is clearly in touch with her inner child, creating a middle-grade story that is pitch-perfect with voice and pre-teen angst. Youngsters, especially those who gravitate toward the arts, will be completely engaged with this fun story. The characters of Monica and her mother were a little over the top, having unbelievable power at the school, but otherwise, this is a terrific book.