“I grew this summer. Not on the outside, but on the inside. And that’s the only place where growing really matters.”
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan is about self-discovery and the role models who forever change us. Julia Marks is very short for her age. She never thought of herself as a performer, but when she was cast to be a Munchkin in a summer performance of The Wizard of Oz. Julia gets inspiration and motivation from the amazing director of the play Shaw Barr, Olive, and Mrs. Chang. Shawn Barr is a marvelously grandiose director that whom Julia becomes close. Olive is an adult with dwarfism that doesn’t let her size define her. She is a friend of Julia and Julia’s role model. Mrs. Chang is a neighbor who encourages Julia and has many unexpected talents. All these role models teach Julia one thing over the course of the summer. It’s not your size on the outside, but the size of your heart that counts.
Overall, this is a pretty sweet story. I didn’t like it as much as Counting by 7s, but that book is hard to beat. I think that this book was mildly disappointing based on my expectations for it since Counting by 7s was so good, but I still liked this book. Sure, Holly Goldberg Sloan has written better, but this book was still good. I liked how Julia was written, she seemed like a nice person and a good friend. Altogether, I would give this book 3.75 stars, or 4 if I’m feeling generous.
