Mari feels torn between two cultures. While she attends an elite private school, Mari is looking forward to working at a special summer program at her family’s fashion business, Style High. But Mari quickly realizes that she’s out of place with 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 discovers exactly why Kara’s been so spiteful. But has Mari been acting real the entire summer? Paula Chase’s latest novel is an exploration of family, friendship, and the pressure to conform to be accepted. Timely and memorable, Keeping It Real is a character-driven story that balances thematic threads such as racism, classism, creativity, fashion, and family. A must-have for the upper middle grade audience.