A Different Twist
Elizabeth Levy
ISBN: 0590332295
(Published originally by Apple/Scholastic in 1984, based on a teleplay by Dianne Dixon as an ABC weekend special by Scholastic Productions)
Found this via someone searching for an old book remembered from childhood. I didn't read it myself back then, but it seems like it would have been right up my alley.
Basic bones: Christi is an aspiring actress/singer, and she's delighted when her actor crush Phil Grey comes to her hometown to direct a staging of Oliver! - until she learns that he's only casting local boys in the "urchin chorus." She and her best friend Lizbeth hatch a plot for Christi to become Chris - which works perfectly well until Christi's scruples, as well as the more technical difficulties of playing a boy in a theatre environment (dressing rooms, close quarters) force her to reveal herself the night of the dress rehearsal.
Overall, pretty good, if really stereotypical and quickly paced. I can tell that it was originally a tv performance, because of the very visual and action-oriented scenes that weren't really necessary - the wheelie and the constant prat-falling being the main tells. I enjoyed the contrast in relations between Christi and Lizbeth, and between Chris and her new stage friends, and with her parents.
It even managed to not date itself horribly - there are no mentions of anything technological in any detail that would date horribly, and even the attitude towards ear-piercing is looked at as a personal view, not as a society or cultural thing.
A cute, light-hearted read.
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