Rachel DeWoskin's Big Girl Small was a case of picking a book by it's cover. I saw it sitting on the shelf at Vroman's Bookstore and without reading the synopsis, I took a leap of faith and bought it.

The central character of the story is Judy Lohden, a high school student at a local Arts high school. Judy's high school was nearly identical to arts high school that I graduated from in the mid 90's. DeWoskin even had a character that had the same name as one of the teachers at my high school, Gary Sorensen. Unbelievably, when I read DeWoskin's author bio, she had not attended my school, but an arts school in a different state. The similarities are staggering.

Besides her incredible singing voice, Judy is also set apart from the crowd by her diminutive stature. She is a little person struggling to not only prove herself via her talent, but fit in with her peers. Judy is a great character, funny and imperfect. DeWoskin did a great job at writing Judy as an ordinary teenager. Judy's struggles are not over-sentimentalized and the character (also being the narrative voice) never asks to be pitied. This makes it easy to love her and to root for her to win, even when she is making terrible choices. This book is filled with cringe worthy moments.

All of the characters in the book feel very organic. So much so, that it often feels slice of life and is paced a bit slow, especially in the final third of the story. This is my only criticism.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the story and the characters. I am excited to read more stories by this author.

Help LACHSA

I just received an email and saw multiple Facebook posts about LACHSA (Los Angeles County High School for the Arts) facing drastic cutbacks. I graduated from LACHSA in 1995 and going there was one of the best experiences in my life.

I know that every public school is facing cutbacks and to some an arts education sounds like a luxury rather than an essential. All I know, is LACHSA is a special place. It saddens me to think that arts teachers will lose their jobs and that classes will be cut. I think the structure of LACHSA allows students to develop deeper bonds with their teachers than would normally develop in a traditional high school. I felt like I graduated with a group of mentors that helped guide me and from that I was better prepared for my future.

I also feel like since my school was arts focused and had abandoned many of the traditional trappings of high school life ( sports, most dances, cheerleaders, et) the students were more driven. People had their group of friends, but there was less of a leaning towards forming cliques or excluding people. I would be hardpressed to pick out the "popular" kids. This all fostered an atmosphere of creativity and learning. I always looked forward to being in class and having new experiences.

LACHSA isn't perfect, but it is something special and worth fighting to save. My life is so much richer from having attended - amazing friends, incredible experiences and teachers/mentors who work so hard. I am really sad to think of what these changes will mean for both the teachers and students.

If you are able, please consider making a donation. It's such a worthy cause!