Description
Doris Kozlowski's life is anything but normal. Her mum plays singing vegetables in TV commercials. Her little brother be friends pebbles and potatoes. And don't even get her started on her babcia.
But Doris is good at pretending to be just like everyone else, and she has a plan to get through Year Six: keep her head down, keep her family away from the school, and keep her best and only friend, the perfect Felicity.
So when Felicity ditches her for the popular girls before their first class even starts, Doris needs a new plan.She figures if she can win the talent show, Felicity will want to be friends again, and Doris can get her lifeback.
That is, if her babcia stops trying to 'help'. And if her mum avoids more embarrassing commercials. And if her brother manages to keep her secrets.
Who is she kidding? Doris is DOOMED.
Get Your Act Together, Doris Kozlowski is a hilarious yet touching middle grade debut about embracing who you are, finding your true friends and the unstoppable magic of a good musical number.
Review
Doris Kozlowski is on a mission to get through Year 6 without any issues, after the drama that her family has created in the past!
Not only does Doris have to deal with her over the top mum who does embarrassing TV commercials, a little brother with strange habits, an absent Dad who got caught kissing her Performing Arts teacher Mr Wright, not to mention her babcia, Doris' Polish grandmother, who lives with them and has very traditional ways of doing things - including the traditional lunches that she sends Doris to school with!
But when her best friend Felicity is suddenly part of ‘The Perfects’, Doris finds herself floundering andalone. With the upcoming Year 6 Talent Show just around the corner, Doris has to come up with a way to redeem herself, win the talent show and win Felicity's friendship back? But Felicity isn't the only friendship she needs to resolve. Can Ava forgive her for everything that happened before Felicity came along?
What follows is a series of hilarious attempts to insert herself in everyone else’s acts. But does Doris really need anyone else, or can she embrace who she really is and accept herself and her family?
This is a fabulous story about friendship, family, and the challenges of trying to fit in and to be just like everyone else. It is also about the joy of accepting your differences and how liberating embracing your own unique and wonderful characteristics can be! This will be thoroughly enjoyed by those in middle to upper primary.
Teacher Notes prepared by the publisher are available in our website for this title.
Reviewed by Sam
