Not Your All-American Girl

By Wendy Wan-Long Shang   and Madelyn Rosenberg   

Scholastic Inc. | ISBN 9781338037777 Paperback
256 Pages | 5.271″ x 7.543″ | Ages 8 to 12

Scholastic Inc. | ISBN 9781338037760 Hardcover
256 Pages | 5.731″ x 8.542″ | Ages 8 to 12

Scholastic Inc. | ISBN 9781338037784 Ebook
256 Pages | Ages 8 to 12

A multicultural story full of heart and hilarity about what it means to be all-American.

Lauren and her best friend, Tara, have always done absolutely everything together. So when they don’t have any classes together in sixth grade, it’s disastrous. The solution? Trying out for the school play. Lauren, who loves to sing, wonders if maybe, just maybe, she will be the star instead of Tara this time. But when the show is cast, Lauren lands in the ensemble, while Tara scores the lead role. Their teacher explains: Lauren just doesn’t look the part of the all-American girl. What audience would believe that she, half-Jewish, half-Chinese Lauren, was the everygirl star from Pleasant Valley, USA? From amidst the ensemble, Lauren tries to support her best friend. But when she can’t bring herself to sing anymore, her spot in the play and her friendship are in jeopardy. With the help of a button-making business, the music of Patsy Cline, and her two bickering grandmothers, can Lauren find her voice again? Acclaimed 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.

Lauren and her best friend, Tara, have always done absolutely everything together. So when they don’t have any classes together in sixth grade, it’s disastrous. The solution? Trying out for the school play. Lauren, who loves to sing, wonders if maybe, just maybe, she will be the star instead of Tara this time. But when the show is cast, Lauren lands in the ensemble, while Tara scores the lead role. Their teacher explains: Lauren just doesn’t look the part of the all-American girl. What audience would believe that she, half-Jewish, half-Chinese Lauren, was the everygirl star from Pleasant Valley, USA? From amidst the ensemble, Lauren tries to support her best friend. But when she can’t bring herself to sing anymore, her spot in the play and her friendship are in jeopardy. With the help of a button-making business, the music of Patsy Cline, and her two bickering grandmothers, can Lauren find her voice again? Acclaimed coauthors Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang return to the 1980s world of Sydney Taylor Honor Bookwith this laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story.

Raves & reviews:

Praise for This Is Just a Test:
2017 Sydney Taylor Award
Honor Book
CBC Book of the Year Finalist
2017 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers
New York Historical Society’s Children’s History Book Prize Finalist
2018 Young Adult Virginia Author Award Finalist”For a book about the possible end of the world, Rosenberg and Shang keep the tone surprisingly light. . . . The dialogue is snappy and the plot fast-paced.” — The New York Times Book Review* “It’s refreshing to meet a male protagonist who, like Tara in Paula Freedman’s My Basmati Bat Mitzvah, is struggling with how to be authentically Jewish in a bicultural family. . . . Giggle-inducing, light, and charmingly realistic fiction that will resonate with a wide variety of readers.” — School Library Journal, starred review”There’s a lot to enjoy, but it’s David’s relationships with his two grandmothers that steal the show, especially when the rivals eventually unite to teach him he’s not ‘half of each’ but ‘all of both.’ A nostalgic and heartwarming period coming-of-age comedy.” — Kirkus Reviews