Informationen zum Autor Kalena Miller grew up in College Station, Texas. After high school, she moved a thousand miles north to attend Carleton College, where she graduated with a BA in Religious Studies. After a brief stint working as a paraeducator in Seattle, Kalena decided she missed school too much, so she spent the next two years pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Hamline University. Kalena lives in Minnesota with her husband, Kenny, and their Toy Australian Shepherd, Toshley. She loves books that make her laugh and make her cry, preferably at the same time, and she firmly believes all quality novels should feature a cat. Klappentext After Shannon accidentally lands a lead role in the summer musical, she realizes she has bigger things to worry about than stage fright in this contemporary middle-school novel about strained friendships, the positive power of theater, and the realities of being a tween with OCD. Shannon Carter never considered herself much of a theater person. Not like her two BFFs, Elise, an actress, and Fatima, a techie. Shannon's always been content to stay backstage, helping wherever she can. But when the director of the summer musical hears Shannon singing, he encourages her to step out of the wings and into the spotlight. At first, Shannon is hesitant. As a twelve-year-old with obsessive-compulsive disorder, she depends on routine. But when she braves the audition, she discovers that center stage is the one place where she doesn't feel anxious. She lands a lead role, and everyone in her life is ecstatic . . . except Elise. To make matters worse, Shannon's eccentric and opinionated grandmother moves in with her and her mom after a fluke house fire. As opening night approaches, Shannon feels pressure to save her friendship with Elise, to make Mom and Grandma Ruby act like grown-ups, and to follow the old theater adage The show must go on . Leseprobe SIXTEEN BARS I stare at the ripped sheet of notebook paper taped to the auditorium door. There's a pen dangling from a string beside it and a line of kids waiting to sign up. Elise grabs the pen and scrawls her name at the bottom of the list. This is your chance, Shannon. Fatima prods me in the side with a sparkly blue nail and gives me a knowing look. She takes the pen from Elise and hands it to me. I shake my head, drop the pen, and watch it bounce back against the wall. There are different levels of theater kids. I'm a level one. I enjoy working on shows, but I'm mostly here for my friends. I'm a techie, which means I do behind-the-scenes stuff. It's true I sometimes envy the actors--singing and dancing is probably more fun than spending hours with a hot glue gun--but I stay where I'm comfortable. Standing alone onstage? Being judged by my friends? Performing for a packed audience? Those are the total opposite of comfortable. Fatima is a level two. Like me, she prefers to work backstage. But while I'm partial to costume design and props, Fatima is obsessed with anything involving hammers and screwdrivers. Operating a power drill is her favorite hobby. She's talented too. Last summer, Fatima built a giant doghouse all by herself for our production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Elise, the only actor among us, is a solid level three. She spends the week after auditions working on her prediction chart, a massive bulletin board where she guesses the entire cast list. Imagine a serial killer's lair with pictures and Post-it notes connected by bits of string. Except with more sequins. Are you sure? Fatima asks. Kids are jostling behind us, but I stand frozen in place, staring at the list. Yeah, you should audition. You could be, like, a nun or something. Elise's words are supportive, but her voice is hollow. She's never said this out loud, but I know she enjoys being the only actor in our trio. D...

Autorentext
Kalena Miller grew up in College Station, Texas. After high school, she moved a thousand miles north to attend Carleton College, where she graduated with a BA in Religious Studies. After a brief stint working as a paraeducator in Seattle, Kalena decided she missed school too much, so she spent the next two years pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Hamline University. Kalena lives in Minnesota with her husband, Kenny, and their Toy Australian Shepherd, Toshley. She loves books that make her laugh and make her cry, preferably at the same time, and she firmly believes all quality novels should feature a cat.

Klappentext

After Shannon accidentally lands a lead role in the summer musical, she realizes she has bigger things to worry about than stage fright in this contemporary middle-school novel about strained friendships, the positive power of theater, and the realities of being a tween with OCD.

Shannon Carter never considered herself much of a theater person. Not like her two BFFs, Elise, an actress, and Fatima, a techie. Shannon’s always been content to stay backstage, helping wherever she can. But when the director of the summer musical hears Shannon singing, he encourages her to step out of the wings and into the spotlight.

At first, Shannon is hesitant. As a twelve-year-old with obsessive-compulsive disorder, she depends on routine. But when she braves the audition, she discovers that center stage is the one place where she doesn’t feel anxious. She lands a lead role, and everyone in her life is ecstatic . . . except Elise.

To make matters worse, Shannon’s eccentric and opinionated grandmother moves in with her and her mom after a fluke house fire. As opening night approaches, Shannon feels pressure to save her friendship with Elise, to make Mom and Grandma Ruby act like grown-ups, and to follow the old theater adage The show must go on.

Leseprobe
SIXTEEN BARS

I stare at the ripped sheet of notebook paper taped to the auditorium door. There’s a pen dangling from a string beside it and a line of kids waiting to sign up. Elise grabs the pen and scrawls her name at the bottom of the list.

“This is your chance, Shannon.” Fatima prods me in the side with a sparkly blue nail and gives me a knowing look. She takes the pen from Elise and hands it to me. I shake my head, drop the pen, and watch it bounce back against the wall.

There are different levels of theater kids.

I’m a level one. I enjoy working on shows, but I’m mostly here for my friends. I’m a techie, which means I do behind-the-scenes stuff. It’s true I sometimes envy the actors--singing and dancing is probably more fun than spending hours with a hot glue gun--but I stay where I’m comfortable. Standing alone onstage? Being judged by my friends? Performing for a packed audience? Those are the total opposite of comfortable.

Fatima is a level two. Like me, she prefers to work backstage. But while I’m partial to costume design and props, Fatima is obsessed with anything involving hammers and screwdrivers. Operating a power drill is her favorite hobby. She’s talented too. Last summer, Fatima built a giant doghouse all by herself for our production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Elise, the only actor among us, is a solid level three. She spends the week after auditions working on her prediction chart, a massive bulletin board where she guesses the entire cast list. Imagine a serial killer’s lair with pictures and Post-it notes connected by bits of string. Except with more sequins.

“Are you sure?” Fatima asks. Kids are jostling behind us, but I stand frozen in place, staring at the list.

“Yeah, you should audition. You could be, like, a nun or something.” Elise’s words are supportive, but her voice is hollow. She’s never said this out loud, but I know she enjoys being the only actor in our trio. Despite her fancy voice lessons, Elise gets insecure about her singing.

…