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THE RISING STAR OF RUSTY NAIL Lesley M. M. Blume Hardcover | Knopf Books for Young Readers | 978-0-375-83524-7 (0-375-83524-5) | June 2007 | $15.99 | Ages 10 up Hardcover Library Binding | Knopf Books for Young Readers | 978-0-375-93524-4 (0-375-93524-X) | June 2007 | $18.99 | Ages 10 up

Have you ever known someone at school who always seems to do better than you? They beat you no matter what the game is? Meet Franny. A 10-year-old piano prodigy living in a small, backwater farm town. Enter Nancy Orilee. Also a 10-year-old piano prodigy, but rich enough that her parents can afford to take her to piano lessons in another town, and Nancy doesn’t hesitate to rub it in Franny’s face every chance she gets. When it is announced a famous visitor is coming to Rusty Nail, both Franny and Nancy are asked to play the piano. This could be Franny’s ticket out of Rusty Nail and a chance for real stardom. Practicing every chance she gets, Franny is well on her way to outperforming the snotty Nance Orilee. But life has a way of throwing you curve balls. Just when Franny thinks all is going well and she’s going to beat Nancy, a new neighbor moves in. A neighbor many of the people in her town call a “commie.” It’s with this commie that Franny learns just what playing the piano is really all about and not about.

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Prepared by Brenda Day, Library Media Specialist, Aledo Middle School, Aledo, Texas

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