• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Adina has always wanted to be a part of the annual fashion show at her school for the arts.

Now that Adina is finally in the ninth grade, she and her friends can audition. She knows their act could be perfect. They've got great music, gorgeous costumes and wicked dance moves. But Willow is being her usual flaky self, and Sandra's getting touchy. Maybe even a bit mean. Luckily, Seth remains steady and reliable. Their biggest competition is the annoyingly perfect Prima Donnas, who are doing everything they can to undermine Adina and her friends. Adina is used to working hard at everything she does, including her violin, art, drama and singing classes. But her friends are getting sick of her ordering them around. They just don't get what a huge deal this is. When one of the Prima Donnas gets injured during their audition, minutes after Sandra storms off in a huff, the two groups realize that in order to succeed, they may have to work together.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Raquel Rivera was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. After graduating York University with a B.F.A. in Visual Arts in 1987, Raquel Rivera moved to Barcelona, Spain, for two years. There she found work as a teacher of English, pursued her drawing and learned Spanish.

Some years later, she left Toronto again to live in Singapore. While working as a project manager and copywriter for a graphic design firm there, Raquel was able to produce a series of artist books. Her "Small Books" now tour North America in Projet mobilivre/Bookmobile (www.mobilivre.org) and are included in the collection at Montreal's Bibliograph/e Zine Library (www.bibliograph.ca).

In 1996 Raquel and her future husband Kim moved one country north, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They started a website design practice and founded Site Dish! (www.sitedish.com) to house interactive projects experimenting with art, writing and interface design for the web. At the same time, Raquel was able to pursue her writing and drawing online in web art collaborations with Montreal-based artist, Jeannette Lambert—work which was featured in online journals and festivals around that time.

In 1999 Raquel began raising a family and focusing exclusively on her own writing and art. She has since published poems, exhibited her drawings and written three children's books: Arctic Adventures, Tales from the Lives of Inuit Artists, Orphan Ahwak and Tuk and the Whale.

Raquel maintains a book review website, In My Hysterical Opinion. She now lives in Montreal with her husband and two children.

Raquel Rivera's profile page

"Rivera succeeds in creating real tensions between the youngsters—readers will wonder throughout whether they'll be able to pull it off—and their final act comes together with a surprising twist. Kudos to Rivera, whose dance routine details, in addition to the shimmery gold costumes, make the acts come alive."

Montreal Review of Books (MRB)

"Many thoughtful themes emerge that will keep students talking: how words can hurt others, bullying, Hindi culture, body image, boys in the arts, co-operation that leads to real friendship. Younger teens interested in the arts will be satisfied by this short, easy to read novel and inspired by the collaboration of Adina and her friends."

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Show Mode…is a good read with strong and interesting characters who learn and grow from their mistakes. The quick moving plot keeps the story interesting and gives the reader a realistic glimpse into the world of performing. Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials