Customer Reviews

Zibby Payne & the Drama Trauma (Zibby Payne)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We've been waiting for #2 in this series -- my daughter got hooked on Zibby Payne in the Wonderful Terrible Tomboy Experiment. Zibby reminds me of me and my friends when we were 11 but she is completely contemporary as well. There is never a dull moment in the story -- it has a nice little lesson to teach -- and a hilarious and believable ending. I wish all characters in kids' fiction had as much going for them and around them as Zibby! Can't wait for #3.

Zibby Payne has decided that "drama is for sissies, not tomboys," so she has absolutely no interest in trying out for the school play, even though everyone else is. But when hotshot Amber comes to her for soccer tips, Zibby can't help but think that she would be a natural for the lead character, who scores the winning soccer goal at the end of the play.

Before she knows what she's getting in to, Zibby lands a part in the play...as "The Prissy Girl!" She even has to sing a solo about the color pink! Amber, of course, gets the main part, while Zibby's soccer buddy, Matthew, lands the role of lead male.

When an accident lands Amber in a cast and Zibby in the main role, Zibby and Matthew are horrified to learn that they must kiss at the play's closing. Mrs. Halpin, the director, will not back down, and Zibby must try everything to get out of this kiss, even if it means quitting the show.

I had a very hard time believing that a teacher would force two obviously uncomfortable students to exchange such an intimate gesture in public. Regardless, Zibby's second adventure left me with a few laughs, and a happy conclusion.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

In Zibby Payne and the Wonderful, Terrible Tomboy Experiment, a delightful girl named Zibby entered middle school and found a way to balance her time between two different groups of friends. In Zibby Payne and the Drama Trauma, she steps into the spotlight - literally.

When she first hears about the school play, Zibby is not very interested in it. That changes the second she finds out that the lead character loves playing soccer as much as she does. The role goes to one of her classmates at first, but when she is injured, Zibby gets the part. She is back on Cloud Nine, floating along happily until she learns that there's a kiss in the script. No WAY is she going to kiss a boy!

Every time they have to rehearse the kissing scene, she makes an excuse so she doesn't have to go through with it. She keeps stalling and stalling, trying to think of a way out of it, until it's too late: opening night is around the corner. Feeling uncomfortable, she abruptly quits. Zibby is as considerate as she is headstrong, so once she realizes how much her leaving has messed up the entire production, she becomes determined to set things right.

I zipped through Drama Trauma in one sitting and loved it just as much as the first book. Recommended, especially to kids who talk about "cooties" in the classroom or on the playground, and to teachers and librarians looking for a cute story to read aloud to those kids.