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OLDER FICTION
Chase, Paula

Keeping It Real

368 pp. | Greenwillow | October, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-296569-1 $16.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-296571-4 $8.99
(2) YA African American teen Marigold "Mari" Johnson is used to straddling two worlds. While her parents' successful media company has afforded her a life of luxury, she constantly has to prove she's "safe enough" for her private school classmates and "down enough" for her family in District City. Classmate and basketball star Justice understands her more than anyone; but as a "scholarship kid," he still accuses Mari of being clueless when it comes to the stigma he faces as a student--a hardship so prevalent that Justice may transfer. When Justice reveals he's been chosen as part of her parents' fashion internship program, Mari decides to join, too, in an attempt to convince him to stay at their school. Her decision is met with more tension than Mari expected, especially from fellow intern Kara. When the tension culminates in an unexpected revelation, Mari is forced to rethink what privilege truly means, and how to handle it responsibly. In a departure from her books about the crew from The Cove (Turning Point, rev. 3/21, and others), Chase turns her full attention to themes of classism within the Black community. While the first-person narrative doesn't leave much opportunity for readers to become attached to other characters, they are made intimately aware of Mari's thought processes.
Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

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