ARC Review: “Keeping It Real” by Paula Chase

“Keeping It Real” by Paula Chase

Publication Date: October 19, 2021

Genre: Fiction, Middle Grade, Contemporary

Page Length: 368 pages (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

Marigold Johnson can’t wait to attend a special program at her family’s business, Flexx Unlimited, for teens who love fashion. But Mari quickly realizes that she’s out of place compared to the three other trainees–and one girl, Kara, seems to hate her on sight.

As tension builds and the stakes at the program get higher, Mari uncovers exactly why Kara’s been so spiteful. She also discovers some hard truths about herself and her family.

Paula Chase explores complex themes centering on friendships, family, and what it means to conform to fit in. Keeping It Real is also a powerful exploration of what happens when parents pick and choose what they shield their children from. Timely and memorable, Paula Chase’s character-driven story touches on creativity, art, fashion, and music. A great choice for the upper middle-grade audience. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

Keeping It Real is the story of Marigold who’s just graduated from junior high and is about to enter the summer right before she goes to high school. She is the daughter of two parents who run a very successful hip-hop-oriented fashion company called Flexx and because of that, she is held up at a higher status at her school. Because of her background, she also gets a lot of flack from her best friend Justice who she has a major crush on. He among others says she’s too bougie or not Black enough. To prove naysayers wrong and that she is a hard worker she decides to join Flexx’s summer program in order to prove that she has the skills to succeed on her own.

Mari has trouble fitting into the summer program right from the start. As people label her by her parent’s status she finds herself clashing with Justice even more. She knew that things weren’t going to be easy but from the beginning, she starts to feel as if she didn’t make the right decision.

Mari struggles with being labeled as something she’s, not and does her best to be accepted by the rest of the crew. But the more she tries the more she gets labeled as fake. This is an obvious gap between her and the others because of their background and she knows she can’t change that. Also, it’s a story of revaluating friendships, understanding others, and growing up. Mari is faced with situations and how she handles them affects the rest of the summer experience. Most of all it’s a book about how we judge other’s appearances and make assumptions.

Ms. Sadie whipped around, arms folded. “You know better than that. Don’t go talking that nonsense, putting people in boxes ’cause of where they from. That little girl ain’t no different than you or nobody else out here trying find a way for herself.” My eyebrows dipped in confusion. “I was just joking.” “It’s not funny , Marigold. And if you acting like you better than people, then I got an idea what them other kids think about you.”

Keeping It Real is a story about being yourself, family dynamics, and friendships. It had some unexpected twists that I didn’t see coming which added to the overall plot. I appreciate that in Chase’s books she keeps it 100% real with her readers. She really connects to her intended audience with the way she writes and also the themes she discusses in her novels. I highly recommend her middle-grade books.

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.