People of color usually come to mind when I think of Diverse Books, but while this novel has some of that, it is mostly about a person with a disability – wheelchair bound from the age of two by way of a car accident.

Natalie Beacon, age 13 years, has just arrived in New Jersey with her parents from San Francisco, CA. This family move leaves the Beacons not knowing anyone in this new town. While Nat’s father is busy talking with the Redker’s College wheelchair racing team coach to get Nat signed up for the team and thus a new set of friends, Nat discovers a poster calling for open auditions to the summer production of WICKED. Nat loves musicals and wants to be in one in the worst way. Obstacle, Nat. You are in a wheelchair. Do not try something new that is going to let you down and get your feelings hurt. Stay with wheelchair racing. You are good at that.

The Chance to Fly is a coming of age story with the obstacles of over protective parents, making new friends in a new town, trying something new (live theater) you have wanted for a long time, and how to make people see Natalie the person and not just see a girl in a wheelchair. Obstacle after obstacle Nat takes them on, sometimes secretly, sometimes with her heart in her throat, and sometimes with a yell and a scream. Sounds like a thirteen year old right?

Co-written by Stacy Davidowitz, of the Camp Rolling Hills series, and Ali Stroker, a Tony Award winning actor bound to a wheelchair herself, this book is a shear delight for tweens, extra especially if they enjoy live theater.