CUT LOOSE!

Aspiring musical actor Natalie Beacon sets her sights on Broadway in the sequel to The Chance To Fly (2021).

A month after their Wicked performance, 13-year-old Nat feels totally synced with her fellow Oz Bounderz—especially her boyfriend, Malik. But the new school year threatens to disrupt their harmony. The Bounderz are split between schools, which makes Nat’s not-so-accessible introduction to Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School as the “New Kid…in the Wheelchair” even harder. Fortunately, musical theater’s bound to be a bright spot—especially if MLK Jr.’s upcoming performance of Footloose lands the cast a shot at winning the Timmys, a junior Broadway competition. When Nat and Malik are cast as the lead couple, Nat is ecstatic, but stumbling blocks abound. Malik’s preoccupation with his band disrupts their rehearsals, and Hudson, enthralled with his boyfriend, is strangely aloof. Worst of all, the choreographer prizes synchronization, but it’s hard for Nat to translate her castmates’ flashy footwork to wheelchair dancing. Are her castmates’ snide comments true—was Nat’s casting based on her disability rather than her talent? Stoker and Davidowitz poignantly and perceptively explore external and internalized ableism; in particular, Nat’s initially awkward reaction to a nonspeaking student is uncomfortably realistic. But the infectious enthusiasm for theater never wanes, and a stirring conclusion leaves readers on a high note. Nat reads white; Malik is cued Black, and there’s diversity among the secondary cast.

A rousing celebration of friendship, self-expression, and self-advocacy.