![Keeping It Real](/assets/artwork/1x1-42817eea7ade52607a760cbee00d1495.gif)
![Keeping It Real](/assets/artwork/1x1-42817eea7ade52607a760cbee00d1495.gif)
![](/assets/artwork/1x1-42817eea7ade52607a760cbee00d1495.gif)
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Keeping It Real
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- 4,49 €
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- 4,49 €
Publisher Description
“Fun and juicy.”—New York Times
“A solid story of summer growth and exploration.”—Kirkus Reviews
Marigold Johnson is looking forward to a future full of family, friends, and fashion—but what will she do when it all explodes in her face? When she discovers that her entire life is a lie?
Paula Chase, the author of So Done, Dough Boys, and Turning Point, explores betrayal, conformity, and forgiveness—and what it means to be family—in this stand-alone novel perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Rebecca Stead, and Renée Watson.
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Socioeconomically, fashion design–sketching Black teen Marigold Johnson is like most of the privileged white students who attend Flowered Arms Academy—that is, her parents are "ballers." As the only Black girl in her grade, however, Mari has found solace for the past two years in her best friendship with Justice, a basketball scholarship student and one of two other Black students in their year. After Justice reveals that he got into a highly competitive summer fashion program for Black rising ninth graders "from some of DC's poorest neighborhoods" at Flexx Unlimited—the "hip-hop lifestyle and media company" run by Mari's parents—Mari decides to join. But when Mari meets the two other selected trainees, she steps into a space in which her background makes her "the same but different," especially as one teen makes her dislike known and Justice seems to ignore Mari entirely. With interspersed text messages and an accessible voice, Chase (Turning Point) delivers a contemporary narrative on the complexities of race, class privilege, and interpersonal relationships, exploring being "Black enough" through a flawed but resonant cast navigating empathy, friendship, and family. Ages 8–12.