95: Middle School Theater with Disability Representation - Wendy Lu Middle Grade Author Interview

Casting April by Wendy Lu is partly based on Wendy's own youth experiences with theatre and living with a tracheostomy tube. While April is partly based on Wendy as a youth, April has a lot of her own experiences as well. We get to hear all about parts of the story that were very much a part of Wendy's own life as well as other important moments like the unexpected friends April encounters and surprising layers to a teacher who could have been the villian for April. Find middle grade author Wendy Luhttps://www.wendyluwrites.com/https://www.instagram.com/wendyluwrites/https://www.amazon.com/Casting-April-Wendy-Lu/dp/B0FRDMD3MZ/Wendy Lu is a journalist, a children’s book author, and a global speaker on disability representation in the media. She is a deputy editor at The New York Times and has covered disability, politics and culture for the last 10 years. Her work has appeared in HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Refinery29 and more. Wendy is the author of “Casting April,” a middle-grade novel from Penguin Random House about a girl who is determined to land the starring role in her school's play — except nobody believes she can do it because of her disability. "Casting April" was selected for the Indie Next List and the Indies Introduce List in 2026. She lives in New York with her husband, Andrew, and their turtle, Little Cloud.Casting April by Wendy LuTwelve-year-old April is a talented performer who is determined to land the starring role in the school play, but no one believes she can do it because of her tracheostomy tube. A heartwarming story of friendship, identity, and the importance of chasing your dreams.Sixth grader April Xue lives and breathes all things Broadway. When she builds up the courage to audition for the lead role in the school play, she thinks she’s knocked it out of the park—until she finds out that she’s been assigned to the stage crew. April is devastated—it seems like the curtain is closing on her dream of being an actor. A day later, April overhears that the theater director, Ms. Rooney,  decided not to cast her because she’s disabled. With the help of her best friend, a sneaky student reporter, and her spirited castmates, April learns to confront her own insecurities as a performer and proves to everyone (including Ms. Rooney) that she deserves a fair shot—all in time for opening night.Chapters00:00 Meet middle grade author Wendy Lu03:01 What is Casting April by Wendy Lu about?05:18 How is Casting April personal for Wendy? Was theatre something Wendy did as a youth?08:50 Developing a middle school theatre story with disability representation12:34 Finding friends in unexpected places13:50 Parent relationships and the importance of kids letting their parents know what they need16:43 Are any of Wendy’s other characters in Casting April based on real people from her life?20:18 How to appropriately talk to someone about their trach tube?24:14 What surprised Wendy when writing Casting April26:59 If Wendy could get a message to her teenage self what would she tell her?28:50 What else would Wendy like for readers to take away from Casting April30:13 What is next for author Wendy Lu?31:09 Wendy’s book recommendation33:01 What to read next if you loved Casting April?