320 pages | Hardcover

From Margaret Dilloway, author ofSummer of a Thousand Pies, comes a heartfelt and funny story about a shy eleven-year-old who learns to manage her anxiety through improv classesand discovers her activist voice.

Eleven-year-old Ava Andrews has a Technicolor interior with a gray shell. On the inside, she bubbles with ideas and plans. On the outside, everyone except her best friend, Zelia, thinks she doesnt talk or, worse, is stuck-up. What nobody knows is Ava has invisible disabilities: anxiety and a heart condition.

Ava hopes middle school will be a fresh start, but when Zelia moves across the country and Avas Nana Linda pushes her to speak up about social issues, she withdraws further. So Ava is shocked when her writing abilities impress her classmates and they invite her to join their improv group, making up stories onstage. Determined to prove she can control her anxiety, she joinsand discovers a whole new side of herself, and what it means to be on a team.

But as Avas self-confidence blossoms, her relationship with Zelia strains, and she learns that it isnt enough to just raise your voiceits how and why you use it that matters.