Cut Loose! (The Chance to Fly #2)

The showstopping sequel to The Chance to Fly, which New York Times bestselling author Chris Colfer called “unique, inspirational, and full of heart,” Cut Loose! by Tony Award–winner Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz is an uplifting story about embracing your strengths, standing out, and standing up for what you believe in.
 
It’s the beginning of eighth grade, and Nat Beacon is nervous. Not only will she be the New Kid, but the New Kid in a Wheelchair. And the school year starts off rocky: No one seems friendly, and she can’t get to the cafeteria without help. But there are a few bright spots. Namely, her best friend, Hudson; her boyfriend (swoon!), Malik; and her very favorite thing: theater. This year, there’s a middle school theater competition, and any production that wins their regional competition will get the chance to perform—on a real Broadway stage!
 
Nat couldn’t be more excited. This is her chance to make it big and prove she belongs at her new school! She wows the director and gets cast in the school production: Footloose! But rehearsals are super stressful. Dance diva Skye wants more complex choreography, Malik keeps flaking for band practice, and Hudson gives Nat the cold shoulder, leaving Nat confused and alone. Nat starts to wonder whether she can really carry the show to Broadway and whether, without her friends, it’s worth doing theater at all.

Ali Stroker is a Tony Award winner for her role as Ado Annie in the 2019 revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West’s acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. Since then, she’s performed on stages across New York as well as in movies, such as Christmas Ever After, and countless shows, including Echoes, Only Murders in the Building, Ozark, Ten Days in the Valley, The Glee Project, Glee, And Just Like That, Big Nate, and Alice’s Wonderland Bakery. Her mission to improve the lives of others through the arts, disabled or not, is captured in her motto: “Turning your limitations into your opportunities.” Stroker is the proud author of the acclaimed novel The Chance to Fly as well as the picture book Ali and the Sea Stars.