Bubbling up with Helena

• Title: Cut Loose!
• Author: Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz
• Publisher: Amulet Books
• Release Date: 10/24/23
• Genre: Fiction
• Age Range: Middle Grade
• Rating: ★★★★
• Publisher’s Summary: 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 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 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 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.

I loved Ali Stroker when I saw her in Spring Awakening and Oklahoma! on Broadway. She is a captivating performer with an incredible voice. I cheered from my couch as she won a Tony for her performance as Ado Annie. Her first book with Stacy Davidowitz, The Chance to Fly, brought me so much joy, and I was so excited to read the sequel.

Cut Loose! is the book that I needed in middle school. I was (and am) a big theater nerd, and I always wished there were more books about people who loved musicals as much as I did. I am glad the middle schoolers of 2023 have the Oz Bounders to make themselves feel seen.

I loved the little musical theater references and homages throughout Cut Loose! Each chapter title is the name of a musical theater song, which made me smile, especially “Don’t Lose UR Head,” a reference to one of my favorite songs from Six. Andrew Barth Feldman played Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, and Stroker and Davidowitz gave their ficitional Evan, Adam Blake Felixton, the same initials.

Stroker was the first performer in a wheelchair on a Broadway stage, and Cut Loose! brings important issues about the accessibility of the theater industry to the forefront. Nat worries that she was only cast as the lead in Footloose to make a statement, and she also has to deal with bullying from her castmates around her dancing. Most importantly, Natalie is unable to access the stage of the Lena Horne theater from the audience and is unable to be with her castmates backstage while waiting to perform. These issues are so important, and I hope Broadway makes strides to be more accessible to people in wheelchairs.

As someone who used to teach 8th grade, I can confirm that Cut Loose! does an excellent job capturing typical middle school drama. 13 year olds are often anxious about what their peers think of them, and Nat spends a lot of the book worrying about that. Of course, there is also typical middle school friendship drama where Hudson thinks Natalie doesn’t care enough that he has a boyfriend. It feels very true to my experience with that age group.

I couldn’t stop smiling while reading Cut Loose! I hope Stroker and Davidowitz continue this series because I am eager to follow this group of friends into the next phase of their theatrical lives.