Short

Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Short. 2017. 296p. ISBN 978-0-399-18621-9. Available at FIC SLO on the library shelves.

Julia mourns the death of her dog Ramon. He had grown up with her and been there for the last five years, and now a heart attack has ended his life. When a production of the Wizard of Oz arrives in town, her mother decides to sign up both her younger brother Randy and Julia to be Munchkins. Julia is not thrilled at all. First, she was looking forward to a summer of freedom, writing to her friends who have gone on vacation, and spending time putting together a memory book of Ramon. Plus, Julia really has a problem with the word short, which Munchkins are. See, Julia’s growth has just not caught up with the fact that she’s a teenager now, and not a child. Julia’s brother Randy, who is still a child, is taller than she is. And she’s heard her parents talk about the fact that she’s very short and they fervently hope she will grow up. So does Julia.

On the first day of auditions, Julia discover Shawn Barr, an acclaimed and award winning director, and suddenly her outlook on the play changes. Maybe this will be a good summer after all. Julia meets Olive, a short person who is guaranteed a role as a Munchkin, along with two other short people. She meets her neighbor, Mrs. Chang, who turns out to be a costumer and who creates a fantastic costume for Julia’s Munchkin role. She’s so good that she’s asked to designed the winged monkeys as well.

As rehearsal days pass and as the show gets closer, Julia finds herself growing both in confidence and in maturity, if not physically. Offered another role as a winged monkey, Julia is scared at first of the flying contraption but she conquers her fear. And through it all, Julia realizes that height is not necessary for success and for happiness, and that endings do not stop but are really the beginning of something better!