Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-7

Plot Summary: Charlotte and Maddie are best friends starting middle school. On the first day on the bus, these boys threw gum into another kid's hair. Maddie wants to tell the principal who it was and hold the boys accountable, but Charlotte doesn't want to. In the principal's office, Charlotte eventually writes down the names of the boys who did it. Her nightmare comes true, the boys find out who tattled and now they are giving Charlotte and Maddie a really hard time on the bus. One day, Charlotte just walks right by Maddie and sits somewhere else. Will their friendship survive this betrayal? Will Charlotte overcome her stutter and enjoy musical theater class, where they are working on her favorite musical ever -- The Wizard of Oz? Will Charlotte and her friends save the musical theater program from being cut next year?

Setting: ?

Characters:
Charlotte Andrews -
Maddie - Charlotte's best friend
Ben Hooper - kid who got gum thrown in his hair on the bus
Tristan and Josh - bullies who threw the gum, bully Maddie and Charlotte after
Ms. Harper - musical theater teacher
Grace - diabetic, in Charlotte's theater class, the other half of the horse
Jack - in Charlotte's theater class
Sophie - in Charlotte's theater class
Aubrey - arrogant, snobby, and has commercial experience, thinks she can do what she wants
Ms. Bishop - Charlotte's speech therapist, leaves notes for Charlotte telling her to come to her office in the library but Charlotte ignores them and crumples them up often, practices the entire script together

Recurring Themes: friendship, bullying, honesty, tattling, telling the truth, abandonment, musical theater, fame, school

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: I had a kid ask for a book about school and this one has 90% school drama and 10% discussion of the school drama at home. The characters are authentic and the book is well-written.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: medium
Characters:
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Storyline:

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