I usually wait until mid to late January before posting my reading plans or goals. Mainly because I'm very optimistic about my superhuman capabilities during the start of a new year but much of that enthusiasm fades over the next couple of weeks. I tend to believe I can read more than ever but reality is usually closer to how much I averaged in previous years. So, to allow myself the opportunity to dream big and then plan well, I take the ambitious goals for a road test during the first couple of weeks of the year. If they still look achievable, great! If not, I will part ways with those that are a stretch. The numbers I have an arbitrary number set in Goodreads for this year but it's not a number I will quote as I tend to change it often and it is intended to factor in the many picture books I read with my kids. But that said, there are three numbers I would like to improve this year (last year's stats in parentheses) - total number of pages read (approx. 11k), average n
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In Drama, seventh-grader Callie is part of the stage crew that designs sets, costumes, lighting effects and props, among other things. She has had a long fascination with drama and theater, having even auditioned once for a role (she sucked as a singer). Before long, she found out that designing sets is what she loves to do. In this book, the stage crew decides to put up "Moon over Mississippi" and they begin auditions. Between planning for the show and her struggling non-existent love life, Callie was going to have a very difficult year at school.
If you haven't read Drama, you should be heading now over to your library or bookstore and grabbing it from the shelf. If someone else is holding the library/store's only copy of the book, feel free to nudge and bug that person until you can get hold of it. Drama was a very refreshing quick read. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to read it again. Poor Callie is falling in love with all the wrong/unavailable guys. And there is one guy trying hard and rudely to get her to notice him. Luckily for her, she has stage work to distract her. Being in charge of set design, she has been very effusive about her ideas for this year's drama, including using a real cannon as a prop. Of course, that isn't accepted, but there's still a cannon and oh boy, poor Callie just doesn't seem to be able to get that to work. It was delightful reading how she treads through her seventh grade with all these problems over her head.

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