Not Your All-American Girl

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.

Author: Wendy Wan-Long Shang, Madelyn Rosenberg
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 07/07/2020
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781338037760
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.4
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 509862 / Not Your All-American Girl


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2020
Booklist 05/15/2020 pg. 59
School Library Journal 06/01/2020 pg. 64
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2021 pg. 98

About the Author
Madelyn Rosenberg is the coauthor of This Is Just a Test, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and Not Your All-American Girl, which she wrote with Wendy Wan-Long Shang; Dream Boy, cowritten with Mary Crockett; and many books for younger readers, including the How to Behave books and Cyclops of Central Park. She writes books, articles, and essays for children and adults, and lives in the suburbs of Washington, DC. You can visit her online at madelynrosenberg.com.
Wendy Wan-Long Shang is the author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, which was awarded the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature; The Way Home Looks Now, an Amelia Bloomer Project List selection and a CCBC Choices List selection; and This Is Just a Test, which she cowrote with Madelyn Rosenberg and which is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book. She lives with her family in the suburbs of Washington, DC.