Talent Show Takeover: Book 2 (What's New, Harper Drew?)

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Harper is desperate to get invited to Maisie Felix’s summer glamping party. Friendship is a hard thing sometimes at this age, and I really enjoyed how Harper really has a good head on her shoulders.

This is where the second level comes in - because author Kathy Weeks’ really wins on her witticisms. Harper “writes” these lines with an honest-to-goodness straight face. They’re hilarious and older middle graders and especially the writers will appreciate! David Almond introduces his new picture book, A Way to the Stars, a story about perseverance and finding a way to make dreams come true.What's New, Harper Drew? introduces us to Harper's family and friends. Through Harper's diary entries, we are able to witness the ill-fated yet hilarious trip to France, her brother Troy's attempts at making a skateboarding vlog and the suspicious behaviour of her Uncle Paul (who is supposed to be a Hollywood movie producer though no one has ever seen any of his films). All this while Harper tries to get on the good side of the very popular Maisie Felix to bag an invite to Maisie's garden party. Welcome to the totally hilarious and utterly daft life of Harper Drew and her VERY eccentric family – from her totally hair-obsessed would-be internet celebrity brother, Troy, to her Uncle Paul, who swears he’s making a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio (well, he’s got a red carpet at least). Fizzing with fun. From friendship dramas to family catastrophes, it’s a perfect choice for fans of funny!”– Jen Carney, author of The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.

The Nottinghill Carnival takes central stage in this story about families, memories and the power of dance and festivals. Author Yaba Badoe tells...

Meanwhile plans are underway for the royal party in our neighbourhood with the prize for the best street and obviously we want to win! It’s just Kate Middleton, Priya’s cat, seems to be ruining all the table displays with her claws. I have seen the review below about the parents and neglect and it made me laugh nearly as much as the book itself - I suspect if Harper had read that she would roll her eyes as well. My name is Harper Drew. I wasn't sure I was going to carry on with this journal. I started it in the summer holidays to write down the mayhem happening around me. I thought it might have calmed down by now but I should have known better! This is such a brilliant and hilarious story which made me laugh out loud so many times! When Harper Drew receives a journal for her birthday she decides to start writing down everything that happens in her life because Harper Drew’s life is anything but normal. While Harper is a little obsessed with being invited to Maisie Felix’s next party, her mum is obsessed about bleach and supermarkets, her older brother is obsessed with his hair and her uncle Paul is obsessed with being a Hollywood movie producer, though he’s never actually produced a finished film yet. While her life with her family becomes more and more crazy, Harper is determined to help her friend Edward by raising donations, however even raising money for a worthy cause has its problems.

While the story is funny throughout and a great humorous read, it also brings up some great issues about friendships and even has some disability representation which I liked as the focus was on the character rather than their condition though it still played a part in the story. Nadat iedereen is voorgesteld, begint het een beetje chaotische verhaal van Lizzie. Lizzie wil heel graag vrienden zijn met Milou, het populairste meisje in de buurt en op school. Daar doet ze van alles voor. De familie van Lizzie is ook een beetje vreemd. Dat wordt wel duidelijk als ze op vakantie gaan naar Frankrijk.This book also successes in portraying people going through difficult patches being helped and supported by their loved ones and community without making the story too heavy, which I particularly liked to see represented in a story aimed at younger readers. With the help of her real friends and her perfectly imperfect family, can Harper find the inner confidence she needs to stop trying to impress Maisie and just be herself?

I read it first to see what I thought - Harper is a great character. Clever, resilient and funny. Her friends (and her choice of friends) are nicely created and present a refreshing story in a traditional setting (school diary). The traditional context of the school diary worked well for my children as it made the plot, the characters, the jokes and the morals of the story entirely accessible and relevant to them. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark... Written in a diary format, the book follows the drama and antics of the Drew family, recorded by Harper, middle child and probably the only sane person in the family (except for her little brother, The Prune, but he's still young so there's time for that to change). My name is Harper Drew. I started this journal to write down all the mayhem happening with my friends and family. Is it just me or is it getting a whole lot more chaotic around here lately? The fundraising aspect was undoubtedly my favourite aspect of the book. Not just because it puts Harper in a great many hilarious, awkward situations, such as the car boot sale, but also because of what the fundraising is for. Harper’s best friend Edward is disabled and their school is inaccessible to him, and while I don’t want to make this all about me, I’ve been in similar situations, so seeing Harper be such an ally made me love her even more than I otherwise would have.The father although loving is an overgrown child who never stands up to his wife or parents his kids, the mother has some kind of OCD/shopping addiction for sure because no matter what might be happening in their lives, she needs to burn a couple of hours every day in every kind of supermarket she comes across no matter what kind of state of exhaustion her children are (forcing five people to stay closed inside a car for hours so she can go shopping and going on holiday with nothing but bleach and canned food being two of the examples) - if this wasn't a middle-class white family, they would have child services called on them. These parents sure are something but I don't think it's funny. I finished this book wishing that it had been more focused on Harper's relationship with her friends and her younger brother Prune (who at the young age of six years old was the only one that seemed to know how to navigate his family without being taken advantage of so here's to you kid!). I reached the end of the book without seeing her parents go through any growth so I decided to write them off but thankfully the same could not be said for Harper who reached the end of the book with a new look at what was really important in her life. My name is Harper Drew. I wasn’t sure I was going to carry on with this journal. I started it in the summer holidays to write down the mayhem happening around me. I thought it might have calmed down by now but I should have known better! My parents and my grandparents, Leslie and Weslie, have signed up for a TV house swap makeover challenge, and while my mum is decorating their house in calming tones, my grandparents have chosen leopard print wallpaper for ours… wait until mum sees it! De dagboekvorm zal veel kinderen aanspreken, de vormgeving, maar ook het gebruik van verschillende lettertypes. En de grapjes natuurlijk.