In this energetic novel, illustrator and picture book author Weston (the Owen Foote books) addresses an older audience with entertaining results. Narrator Topher is dismayed when the mystery drama written by his best friend, Kip, fails to win the scriptwriting contest for the middle-school play. Worse yet, the play that does
win is a musical version of a fairy tale—Rumpelstiltskin ("Eighth grade is way too old for that stuff," says one classmate). But at Kip's urging, Topher decides to audition anyway and lands the role of the title character. This credible and likable hero then endures rehearsals that entail humorous run-ins with the bossy playwright, who insists that he isn't making his character "sinister or magical" enough, and singing silly songs to the tunes of Christmas carols and nursery rhymes. Weston presents her narrative in short takes with snappy titles, mimicking theatrical scenes. There are some laugh-out-loud moments here, as when the mean-spirited school bully gets his comeuppance in a most fitting fashion and Kip steals the show when he fills in for the female lead after she becomes ill. Yet the author tempers the comedy with some genuinely affecting moments, among them those concerning the illness and death of Topher's family cat. Aspiring thespians may most appreciate this tale, but even readers who have never stepped onstage will likely hope for an encore performance from Topher. Ages 10-14. (May)
