"Young Mara lives in Sametown, a place where everyone fits in because they like the same stuff and do the same things—everyone but Mara, that is. She loves to dance, but Mara is…different. Can Mara put her fears aside to bring a new type of dance to her school’s talent show? Mighty Mara is an authentic story loosely based on co-author Carina Ho’s experience with a physical disability, showing readers that being different doesn’t mean that we’re not the same. Mara feels as if she doesn’t fit in and wants more than anything to be able to be herself and have friends that understand her. When she signs up to dance at her school’s talent show, her teacher expresses concern about her dancing in front of the whole school. But Mara is determined to show everyone that dance makes her special and that she’s good at it. Mara begins diligently training for the event, incurring snickers and stares from her peers. In cleverly illustrated pictures that depict Mara in ways where her lower body is obscured, the reader will not know of Mara’s true strength and courage until it is revealed at the talent show that she uses a wheelchair. The illustrator’s color scheme further adds meaning to the story by visually separating scenes featuring a vibrant and spirited Mara from the pastel and more muted tones of Sametown and its people. Mighty Mara wraps up in a gratifyingly unsentimental and original way, with Mara’s talented dancing being well-lauded by her peers, but not placing in the show. Discussion prompts at the end of the book invite readers, families, and educators of young children to further dialogue with readers both with and without disabilities." - Publishers Weekly, Booklife