This one was- lame. Maybe it’s just me, though? I have a harder time relating to a narrative about dance than one about gymnastics or skateboarding. Even though a lot of the moves sound similar (in fact, partway through the book the girls do a gymnastics test with their coach to assess skill levels) I had a hard time picturing what they were doing while dancing. Whereas with most of the gymnastics books, I was able to visualize it, even without recognizing what all the terms meant. Some of those authors were better at writing for that than others.
Storyline is about a girl on a competitive dance team. She’s had a sudden growth spurt- four inches in a year- and now feels so awkward in her own body that she can’t perform the moves like she used to. Her balance and sense of space is all off. Feeling the need for extra help, she picks up a job dog walking for a neighbor, so she can pay for a few private lessons. Disappointed when the tips the private coach gives her aren’t immediately effective- it will still take work. Her team coach notices that not only have her abilities regressed, but she’s also missing some cues and making mistakes- due to being so tired from the early-morning job.
I just couldn’t get into this one, not even for less than a hundred pages. The dialog didn’t feel real. Encouragements the main character got from her friend were great, but didn’t sound to me like the things kids would say to each other. Too perfectly apt. I stopped actually reading a few chapters in, skimmed some of the rest, and didn’t even care how they did in the competition at the end.
Borrowed from the public library.
