This Is Just a Test by Madelyn Rosenberg

Now imagine Little Orphan Annie at 16, in an Army jacket covered with punk-rock buttons, and instead of singing “Hard Knock Life,” she was singing The Go-Gos. Sometimes I blame it on my parents’ divorce, but I think the real culprit was a curly perm I got that made me look like Little Orphan Annie. Madelyn Rosenberg: The fact that very few pictures of me exist from the year I turned 16. Confession time: What makes you a child of the 80s?

Wendy Wan-Long Shang: We’re back in the 80s for this book with Sun-in, Star Search, and banana clips. When she is denied the lead in the school musical because the teacher believes that she doesn’t appear to be “all-American,” Lauren must find a way to fight for what she loves. Lauren loves her best friend Tara, singing, and someone she believes to be a kindred spirit -country-western singer Patsy “Klein,” whom she assumes must be Jewish just like her. 2017, Gr 4-8), this time from the viewpoint of younger sister Lauren. 2020, Gr 3-7), we return to the world we created in This Is Just a Test (Scholastic, Jun. With the help of a button-making business, the music of Patsy Cline, and her two bickering grandmothers, can Lauren find her voice again?Īcclaimed coauthors Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang return to the 1980s world of Sydney Taylor Honor Book This Is Just a Test with this laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story.In our new book, Not Your All-American Girl (Scholastic, Jul. But when she can't bring herself to sing anymore, her spot in the play and her friendship are in jeopardy.

What audience would believe that she, half-Jewish, half-Chinese Lauren, was the everygirl star from Pleasant Valley, USA?įrom amidst the ensemble, Lauren tries to support her best friend. Their teacher explains: Lauren just doesn't look the part of the all-American girl. Lauren, who loves to sing, wonders if maybe, just maybe, she will be the star instead of Tara this time.īut when the show is cast, Lauren lands in the ensemble, while Tara scores the lead role. The solution? Trying out for the school play. So when they don't have any classes together in sixth grade, it's disastrous.

Lauren and her best friend, Tara, have always done absolutely everything together.

This Is Just a Test by Madelyn Rosenberg