Chyna has been invited to the exclusive new school as a co-captain of the gymnastics team. Problem? Her co-captain hates her. However, her co-captain is also the child of the two most famous people in town, and she throws her connections around like free money. Jamaal is also having some trouble. His brother (Chyna's boyfriend at the time of his death, not that Jamaal knows that) had just been shot, and Jamaal wants to carry on his legacy while keeping his memory. But he's got these butterflies that have him fainting on the court and getting him suspended from playing in the most important game of the year. There's also an anonymous new gossip in town, and nobody is ready for the chaos it'll sow.
Told from the POVs of Chyna and Jamaal (they're not a couple, or anywhere close to being one), this book had me grabbed by the throat. I was gagged by the HotLipz account every single time. I feel like I audibly gasped with the characters with every post. The drama in this book was only intensified by the writing style. It's purposefully written in a conversational manner, which made it challenging for me (an Asian-American girl who's basically full American) to understand at times, but it was absolutely fascinating. I love learning about Chyna's culture through their speech/texting patterns.
This is a series, by the way. I'm so excited for the next book. There is an intrinsic need in me to return to this world and this plot. I'll be breathing half of every breath until I reach the end.

In the novel titled Balancing Act by Paula Chase. We follow Chyna and Jamaal as they both get offered a scholarship. To attend a new prestigious school. Chyna is going through a lot. Because Chyna has to take care of her mother. Who is ill because she is sick with kidney failure. Adding on to the fact that Chyna is still trying to focus on gymnastics. Having to battle with her current teammates. Also having to keep the a secret from her best friend. And that secret is that she was dating her best friend’s brother. Jamaal is still trying to cope with losing his brother. While still trying to focus on basketball and fitting into his new school. Here’s the thing Jamaal is having a little issue with his healthy. But Jamaal will never let nothing stop him from playing basketball.

Miss Paula the tea is absolutely piping I can't wait to see how the drama unfolds next as a millennial I feel the Degrassi gang is gagged

My first Paula Chase book. Absolutely loved the cover and the synopsis of the book. Not only that, but I was very invested as soon as the chapters started. I feel like this book would work great as an audiobook since there are a lot of characters/radio elements to it. I will say the beginning I was very confused since the book started off in a social media format. But once the chapters started everything slowly came together. My only gripe is that the book felt super long and the storyline was kind of all over the place. First we were dealing with grief and also handling family being sick. So some things weren’t answered for me the way I wanted. Jacque and how he was being “heard” by his brother and girl, Chyna never telling her best friend about her and his brother dating. The random plot twist in the end. Just seemed like a lot of fluff to bulk up the book. Characters were kind of hard to follow as well between the DJ personality name and then his government name. But this is also just very reader specific. Overall, wasn’t terrible but also wasn’t amazing. I’d give this author another try though.

Ahh, how I thought this would be right up my alley. YA with gymnastics and mixed media. That being said, WAY too many characters were introduced right off the bat on the first page, and I just can't comprehend a book that does this. I never know who is who, and I would rather see the author's skill in developing each character as they appear on the page. After that, the writing style had no connection for me.

I thought this was a pretty solid book, even for YA. The handful of characters did start to overpower the plot at times, but I felt the pacing helped to maintain the overall feel of what the book was going for. I didn't like the "gossip" posts but they eventually grew on me. Solid Debut.

Let me start by saying I’m not a fan of Cliffhangers. Delayed gratification is not my thing. But this one will definitely be worth the wait. This is story does a wonderful job painting the picture of teenage life in the inner city. The authenticity of using nuances such as slang and issues within the urban community is top tier! The character arcs are so detailed, I’m over here rooting for some characters while absolutely detesting others. This will be a wonderful read for my high school students. But also a novel that can be enjoyed by adults as well.