Sloan worked this well into the storyline and I enjoyed how she recovered it. I fell in love with all the characters, found myself routing for opening night, and was taken aback when it didn't all fall into place near the end as you may think a YA novel would. Not just the short kid, Julia also appears to have some learning differences. She IS the voice of Julia as a kid growing up, just trying to make sense of the world as she knows it. If I didn't know any better, Holly Goldberg Sloan went back in time with her current writing prowess and wrote this when she was a preteen. Why? It's a book I wouldn't have purchased for myself in store or online, but once I started reading an advance copy from a librarian friend, I fell in love with it and didn't want it to end. the book is always better than the movie). So, I give a standing ovation for this book, which has reinforced my never ending love of libraries (as did Inkheart. You can widen your genre or stick to your comfort zone - all at no cost - the world is wide open to you in a library.

You can flip through books in a brick and mortar store, but sometimes the thought of shelling out hard-earned money for what's in your hands just changes your mind for you. Sure buying e-books and online can be cheap and delivered straight to your hands, but a library is a special place.

A bit off topic for a book review is why libraries and librarians are so important.

Short by holly goldberg sloan