Paula Chase

BIO

Co-founder of award-winning blog, The Brown Bookshelf, Paula Chase is a long time Inclusion advocate and recipient of the ALAN Konigsberg Award for her advocacy. Her critically acclaimed upper middle grade and young adult books blazed the trail for books tackling tough topics for young readers. She holds a B.S. in Communication from James Madison University and resides in Maryland with her husband. Together, they’ve raised two daughters. Visit www.paulachasebooks.com for more and connect with Paula on IG and Tik Tok @ThatPaulaChase.

BALANCING ACT

The first in a new contemporary realistic YA series about teens fighting for their dreams in a city where picking a side is no game, Balancing Act is about the cost of secrets, lies and competition. The Heights, a charter high school for talented and overachieving students, is where stars are made or fade. Nestled inside of Diamond “The Icy City” Falls, The Heights is hard to get into. But if you’re good enough and hungry enough you’ll fit right in.

The inaugural class of this experiment includes gymnast, Chyna Thomas and baller, Jamaal Henderson, close friends who enter the sports season struggling with the sudden loss of Jamaal’s brother Jacquees. When their lives collide with super star Alicia Swanson and the first family of Diamond Falls, the demands of the spotlight whip them down an unexpected path of deceit and life-changing secrets.

In a place like Diamond Falls where rivalries are everything, you better be on the right side of the game. Balancing Act is the first installment of a three-part series.