A Midsummer Tights Dream

October 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-Knobby-kneed, Irish dancer Tallulah Casey is thrilled to be back for her second term at a performing-arts school and can hardly wait to see her friends and the alluring (but confusing) lads she pined after last term. Tallulah is especially excited about showing off her maturing body (her "corkers" have grown) and utilizing all that she learned about boys from her more experienced cousin Georgia (the all-important "snogging scale"). However she gets more than she bargained for with a letter from her dream boy, trying to be just friends with her former crush, and having her face licked by the rebellious leader of the town's only metal band. On top of all this, Dother Hall may close unless the students raise enough funds to save it, and Tallulah has been passed over for the role of fairy queen and has to play the traditionally donkey-eared Bottom. Readers will enjoy Tallulah's use of hilarious British slang (don't worry, there is a glossary) and her vibrant personality, and off-kilter descriptions perfectly capture the exuberance and awkwardness of early adolescence. The book does have some pacing problems-the first two thirds or so move along slowly and the last few chapters are so action-packed they may induce whiplash-but this will not deter fans of the series or of the Georgia Nicholson books.-Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

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