After moving across the country, thirteen-year-old Natalie auditions for her new school's play and overcomes her fears and insecurities about performing in a wheelchair. - (Baker & Taylor)

A Tony Award-winning actress and the author of the Camp Rolling Hills series follows the experiences of a theater-loving girl who uses her wheelchair to defy expectations, and gravity, when she is cast in a kids’ production of a favorite Broadway musical. - (Baker & Taylor)

From Tony Award–winning actress Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz, The Chance to Fly is an inspiring and heartfelt middle-grade novel about a theater-loving girl who uses a wheelchair for mobility and her quest to defy expectations—and gravity.

“The perfect read for any dream chaser. . . . You’ll realize how unlimited your possibilities are.” —Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth

Thirteen-year-old Nat Beacon loves a lot of things: her dog Warbucks, her best friend Chloe, and competing on her wheelchair racing team, the Zoomers, to name a few. But there’s one thing she’s absolutely OBSESSED with: MUSICALS!

From Hamilton to Les Mis, there’s not a cast album she hasn’t memorized and belted along to. She’s never actually been in a musical, though, or even seen an actor who uses a wheelchair for mobility on stage. Would someone like Nat ever get cast?

But when Nat’s family moves from California to New Jersey, Nat stumbles upon auditions for a kids’ production of Wicked, one of her favorite musicals ever! And she gets into the ensemble! The other cast members are super cool and inclusive (well, most of them)—especially Malik, the male lead and cutest boy Nat’s ever seen.

But when things go awry a week before opening night, will Nat be able to cast her fears and insecurities aside and “Defy Gravity” in every sense of the song title?

Also available:
Cut Loose!
- (Grand Central Pub)

From Tony Award–winning actress Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz, The Chance to Fly is an inspiring and heartfelt middle-grade novel about a theater-loving girl who uses a wheelchair for mobility and her quest to defy expectations—and gravity.
 
“The perfect read for any dream chaser. . . . You’ll realize how unlimited your possibilities are.” —Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth
 
Thirteen-year-old Nat Beacon loves a lot of things: her dog Warbucks, her best friend Chloe, and competing on her wheelchair racing team, the Zoomers, to name a few. But there’s one thing she’s absolutely OBSESSED with: MUSICALS!

From Hamilton to Les Mis, there’s not a cast album she hasn’t memorized and belted along to. She’s never actually been in a musical, though, or even seen an actor who uses a wheelchair for mobility on stage. Would someone like Nat ever get cast?
 
But when Nat’s family moves from California to New Jersey, Nat stumbles upon auditions for a kids’ production of Wicked, one of her favorite musicals ever! And she gets into the ensemble! The other cast members are super cool and inclusive (well, most of them)—especially Malik, the male lead and cutest boy Nat’s ever seen.

But when things go awry a week before opening night, will Nat be able to cast her fears and insecurities aside and “Defy Gravity” in every sense of the song title?
 
Also available:
Cut Loose!
- (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

Ali Stroker made history as the first person in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway and win a Tony Award. She made her Broadway debut in the revival of Spring Awakening and then played Ado Annie in the revival of Oklahoma! Ali graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has starred and recurred in numerous television shows, including Glee. Her work as a humanitarian includes speaking and performing around the world helping people with and without disabilities through her message of “Making Your Limitations into Opportunities.” The Chance to Fly is her debut novel.

Stacy Davidowitz is the author of the Camp Rolling Hills series and coauthor of Camp Rolling Hills the Musical, which continues to have productions across the country. She is also the author of the Hanazuki chapter-book series based on Hasbro’s YouTube series. Stacy has written award-winning plays that have been produced regionally and internationally. When she is not writing, she teaches creative writing and musical theater in schools, foster care facilities, and juvenile detention centers. She is a graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University, where she earned degrees in drama and acting. Stacy lives in Manhattan with her husband and twin boys.
- (Grand Central Pub)

Ali Stroker made history as the first person in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway and win a Tony Award.  She made her Broadway debut in the revival of Spring Awakening and then played Ado Annie in the revival of Oklahoma! Ali graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has starred and recurred in numerous television shows, including Glee. Her work as a humanitarian includes speaking and performing around the world helping people with and without disabilities through her message of “Making Your Limitations into Opportunities.” The Chance to Fly is her debut novel.
 
Stacy Davidowitz is the author of the Camp Rolling Hills series and coauthor of Camp Rolling Hills the Musical, which continues to have productions across the country. She is also the author of the Hanazuki chapter-book series based on Hasbro’s YouTube series. Stacy has written award-winning plays that have been produced regionally and internationally. When she is not writing, she teaches creative writing and musical theater in schools, foster care facilities, and juvenile detention centers. She is a graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University, where she earned degrees in drama and acting. Stacy lives in Manhattan with her husband and twin boys.
- (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

Ali Stroker made history as the first person in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway and win a Tony Award.  She made her Broadway debut in the revival of Spring Awakening and then played Ado Annie in the revival of Oklahoma! Ali graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has starred and recurred in numerous television shows including 'Glee.' Her work as a humanitarian includes speaking and performing around the world helping people with and without disabilities through her message of 'making your Limitations into Opportunities.' This is her debut novel. Stacy Davidowitz is the author of the Camp Rolling Hills series and coauthor of Camp Rolling Hills the Musical, which continues to have productions across the country. She is also the author of the Hanazuki chapter-book series based on Hasbro's YouTube series. Stacy has written award-winning plays that have been produced regionally and internationally. When she is not writing, she teaches creative writing and musical theater in schools, foster care facilities, and juvenile detention centers. She is a graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University, where she earned degrees in drama and acting. Stacy lives in Manhattan with her husband and twin boys. 
- (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

Kirkus Reviews

An aspiring actor who uses a manual wheelchair is determined to land a part in a community theater production. Moving cross-country from California to New Jersey and leaving her best friend, Chloe, behind is hard enough for Nat. Even worse, the new house doesn't feel like home, and her parents are as overprotective as ever. When Nat, an avid fan of musicals, spots an advertisement for the local theater's production of Wicked, she's sure that nabbing a part will make her feel at home. But her father wants her to focus on wheelchair racing, and her mother doubts her ability to fit in; it's up to Nat to prove she can take the stage. The authors know their stuffâ€"Tony Awardâ€"winner Stroker was the first wheelchair user to be cast in a Broadway play, and Davidowitz is a playwrightâ€"and it shows. Nat's relationship with her loving but overbearing parents rings perceptively and painfully true, as does her frustration with inaccessible venues and patronizing attitudes. Her enthusiasm for the theater is infectious, but readers needn't be theater buffs to relate to her fear of growing apart from Chloe and her desire for independence. A quirky cast of secondary characters lends humor, support, and a little romance as they illustrate the fun and rigor of acting. Nat defaults to White; the secondary cast is somewhat diverse. Fun, honest, and uplifting: applause! (authors' note) (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

PW Annex Reviews

Tony Award–winning Broadway star Stroker and veteran author Davidowitz (Freefall) combine their talents in this resonant middle grade debut. White musical theater aficionado Nat Beacon, 13, has just moved from San Francisco to Saddle Stream, N.J., with her parents, leaving behind her lifelong best friend, Chloe Suarez. While wheelchair racer Nat misses the camaraderie of her former team, her soul-deep dream of performing onstage, in a role epitomizing acceptance and friendship, drives her to audition for a community theater youth production of Wicked. Despite initial reserve—due in part to her burgeoning independence and past accessibility issues—she's quickly absorbed into the cast, which includes handsome Malik Young, who has dark skin and locs, and whom she quickly develops feelings for; nurturing white dance captain Hudson, who is gay; outrageous white starlet Savannah Alexis; and sweet, multitalented Indian American athlete Rey Joshi. Navigating being onstage for the first time, Nat works with her new friends to translate obstacles into opportunities. Bolstered by realistic dialogue and Nat's engaging internal narrative, this endearing novel will entrance a new generation of theater lovers and charm older ones with its allusions to beloved shows. Ages 12–up. Agents (for Stroker): KMR Agency; (for Davidowitz) Hannah Mann, Writers House. (Apr.)