Tag Archive | dance

Ballet is all she knows…then what? TINY DANCER memoir, by Siena Cherson Siegel & Mark Siegel (graphic novel review)

book cover of Tiny Dancer, by Siena Cherson Siegel; art by Mark Siegel. Published by Atheneum | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Dance, stretch,
push through pain,
dance, dance… down.

Ballet classes during her blissful childhood in the 1970s set Siena on her life path. Dancing becomes an escape from the sixth-grade mean girls, from missing her big brother when he leaves Puerto Rico for Boston, from Mom and Dad fighting.

Audition for the School of American Ballet? Live in New York City? School with real friends? All wonderful (except leaving Dad back in San Juan).

Siena wants to be a ballerina more than anything, so that means total dedication, practice, and more practice. Summer ballet schools in and out of New York State as she grows just a little taller than is acceptable for the parts that she longs to dance, spotlight roles that go to her classmates.

An ankle injury forces her to sit out some practices at the New York City Ballet company, just as auditions for the next level are starting – the other girls will get ahead! A little pain is worth the chance to advance, right?

No time for boyfriends or hobbies… even in her dreams, she dances.

No carbs, no desserts – a ballerina’s physique is sleek and svelte…or else.

As her ankle’s healing slows and stalls, Siena’s self-confidence dwindles, and the teen feels trapped by expectations, like turning into a statue instead of a whirling, feather-light dancer.

This graphic novel memoir starts with light and lively lavender colors showcasing Siena’s early days, becoming darker and heavier as she struggles with what could possibly come after ballet, the tutu-clad ghost of her young dreams hovering over many sequences.

Where have your childhood dreams taken you?
**kmm

Book info: Tiny Dancer / Siena Cherson Siegel; art by Mark Siegel; backgrounds by Abe Erskine. Atheneum, 2021. [author bio] [artist site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

ONCE UPON A QUINCEANERA, any magic leftover? by Monica Gomez-Hira (book review)

book cover of Once Upon a Quinceanera, by Monica Gomez-Hira. Published by HarperTeen | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Weird summer internship,
dancing Disney party princess –
but no prince will rescue her!

Carmen must complete this internship to fill the final required credit for graduation, so she’s spending her summer dancing in a ballgown… at kids’ birthday parties… in Florida heat and humidity.

Of course, Mami made sure that she knew how to dance, even though Carmen didn’t get to have a quinceanera to celebrate turning 15 – not her fault, not at all! (Mami’s own quince plus papa equaled Carmen, and it’s just been the two of them for the longest time).

Strange that Mauro is back in Miami when his famous photographer dad has moved away; awkward that he and Carmen are dancing together after he dumped her before leaving for college.

Oh no, her snooty cousin Ariana’s parents have hired the party dance company as the ceremonial corte for her quinceanera! Extra coaching for Ariana’s special dance, too, with Carmen’s boyfriend as her escort… this summer may never end!

Performing for parties while practicing endlessly for Ariana’s quince puts Carmen and Mauro together a lot… time to talk through old times and college scenarios and…

Could Carmen really make a future with her video editing?
Does Mauro like her or is he falling for Ariana?
Can they both dance through the summer without a meltdown?

Family rivalry and fancy dresses, waltzing and wondering, cafe con leche and considering the future – Carmen searches for her own Happily Ever After.

Meet Carmen and crew as you read the first two chapters excerpt here free, courtesy of the publisher.

What big drama in your family has turned out okay in the end?
**kmm

Book Info: Once Upon a Quinceanera / Monica Gomez-Hira. HarperTeen, 2021. (author site) (publisher site) Personal collection; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

SERENDIPITY romance short stories, edited by Marissa Meyer (YA book review)

book cover of Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed, ed. by Marissa Meyer. Published by Feiwel & Friends | recommended on BooksYALove.com

That grand romantic gesture!
Stranded together – oh my!
The Matchmaker’s magic!

Whether it’s a character suddenly realizing they’re In Love with their Best Friend or the Makeover that opens the eyes of an admirer, classic tropes (story patterns) lead readers of romance writing to a satisfying HEA – Happily Ever After.

These ten stories about teens (including a graphic novel chapter) give familiar patterns a fresh look in every color of the rainbow, from the social Class Warfare to Just One Bed on a school trip to Trapped Together in a small space to the Fake Relationship that becomes oh-so real.

Technology plays a part in some stories, while school dance jitters loom large in others. Trying to fit in is a common theme, but fear not – being true to oneself triumphs in the end.

And just look at the stellar crew of YALit contributors to this collection!
Elise Bryant,
Elizabeth Eulberg (Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality! ),
Leah Johnson,
Anna-Marie McLemore ( in Hungry Hearts anthology),
Sandhya Menon (remember When Dimple Met Rishi ),
Marissa Meyer (gotta love Cinder )
Julie Murphy (Dumplin’ forever),
Caleb Roehrig,
Sarah Winifred Searle,
and Abigail Hing Wen.

Enjoy this January 2022 release, then see how many romantic tropes you can identify in the books you read in the future.

Which story pattern leads to your favorite HEA?
**kmm

Book Info: Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed / Marissa Meyer, editor. Fiewel & Friends, 2022. (editor site) (publisher site) Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher, via NetGalley

Singing, dancing, emotions! THAT THING ABOUT BOLLYWOOD, by Supriya Kelkar (MG book review)

book cover of That Thing About Bollywood, by Supriya Kelkar. Published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Happy music, angry words,
favorite foods, empty chair…
No more changes!

If family Hindi movie night would get Mom and Dad in a better mood, Sonali and little brother Ronak would be so much happier.

Those classic Bollywood movies remind the California 11 year old of her late grandfather’s video store and their shared love of this vibrant movie style from India, with its familiar patterns of music style and dance for the emotions in each story.

But along with drama class for the new semester and best friend Zara buddying up with Air, Sonali has to cope with the all-cousins dance routine for her aunt’s upcoming wedding and her parents separating.

Too many changes for Ronak’s “robot sister” who decided to lock away her emotions when grandfather died… and now Sonali hears constant music – her own theme song like in the movies!

Boom – her house and school are bathed in bright colors, anyone happy or woeful bursts out into song, and she’s the only one who thinks this Bollywooditis is new!

Why are her parents still arguing when they live apart?
Can Sonali channel her Bollywooditis into a better theater class grade?
When will Zara be her best friend again?

Sonali doesn’t want all her memories to get a Bollywood makeover too, so she has to figure out how to stop this emotional music-storm before it’s too late!

How would folks singing and dancing their emotions make you feel?
**kmm

Book info: That Thing About Bollywood / Supriya Kelkar. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

F is four friends FACING THE SUN & big changes, by Janice Lynn Mather (YA book review)

book cover of Facing the Sun, by Janice Lynn Mather. Published by Simon & Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Poems and stories and whispers,
Secrets and revelations and sorrows,
Good friends can endure them together… right?

Eldest of five, Eve is so tired of chasing after siblings, being the perfect pastor’s daughter, awash in her parents’ worries about losing the church to developers and something about her father’s health that they won’t tell her. Singing with Toons in the perfect acoustics of that small building is harmony and peace and maybe a little more.

Her single mom keeps Nia on such a short rope, claiming that an all-girls summer arts camp just across the bay wouldn’t be safe, that she needs to read every story before they print the neighborhood newspaper. Borrowing a song heard in the sea-grove as the poem for her camp application could be Nia’s ticket to some breathing room this summer.

Faith’s mother is getting further from reality, and trying to balance homework and dance lessons at her sister’s studio and maybe liking Toons and getting home to keep Mummy safe while her father works late is pulling Faith apart. She doesn’t live on Pinder Street like most of her school-friends, but it hits hard to find out that Daddy’s down there, saying the neighbors have no rights to go onto the beach anymore.

Keekee wonders why she’s the one getting grief from their mom when it’s Toons who’s stepping around with Faith and Eve and Paulette. Her songs channel some of the sting from neighbors’ scorn, those who don’t understand that Angel’s home laundry business supports folks who can’t afford to go to the clinic for condoms or period products.

What’s good about fencing off the beach and tearing down the church so rich people can stay at yet another Bahamas hotel?
Who set the church building on fire as protest?
Where is Toons? Where?

Ties between friends and families twist and tangle in this beachside neighborhood where change seems all-peril, little promise. A tale told in the voices of all four friends, from the Bahamian-Canadian author of Learning to Breathe (my no-spoiler review here).

How do you make yourself brave enough to face changes?
**kmm

Book info: Facing the Sun / Janet Lynn Mather. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Will she SHINE as K-pop star? by Jessica Jung (book review)

book cover of Shine, by Jessica Jung. Published by Simon & Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Not Korean enough in Seoul,
not American enough in New York City –
does she have enough to make it as a star?

Her family’s support of Rachel’s quest to become a K-pop performer is both a comfort and a cage.

Umma, Appa, and her little sister left behind their lives in New York City six years ago when they moved to Seoul so she could train with DB Studios.

But the 17 year old must live at home instead at DB’s trainee house, attending school full-time, then cramming all rehearsals and lessons into the weekends…and doing her homework.

No boys, no social media, weekly weigh-ins – competition is fierce as DB plans to announce its new girl group soon.

Amid mounting pressures to excel in singing, dancing, interviewing skills, and poise, snooty heiress Mina leads her crew in harassing Rachel as a camera-shy American princess.

Rachel’s chance encounter with Jason Lee, internationally famous Korean-Canadian star of DB’s hit boy group, leads to an opportunity to perform with him – can she beat out Mina?

Romantic relationships are forbidden by DB Studios – is her friendship with Jason okay?

One poor decision makes Rachel’s mother furious and disappointed – will the huge disruption of her family’s lives be for nothing?

Written by former K-pop star Jessica Jung, this debut novel takes us behind the glitz of costumes, choreography, and luxury travel to the grind, sweat, and tears of the K-pop studios’ trainee system.

Read chapter one here, courtesy of the publisher, to meet Rachel, Mina, and the DB trainees striving for the chance to Shine on the international music scene.

How far would you travel to pursue your dream?
**kmm

Book info: Shine / Jessica Jung. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020. [author interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher through Edelweiss.

No way! LUPE WONG WON’T DANCE, by Donna Barba Higuera (book review)

book cover of Lupe Wong Won't Dance, by Donna Barba Higuera. Published by Levine Querido | recommended on BooksYALove.com

PE equals sports.
How is square dancing a sport?!

Lupe wants to become a major league pitcher, so meeting the MLB’s first Asian/Latino pitcher in Seattle will be a dream come true – IF she can ace all her middle school classes.

Getting an A in PE should be easy for the Chinese-Mexican athlete, until Coach announces square dancing and a public performance!

Unhygenic hand-holding, only boys can choose their partner, questionable song lyrics – every objection that Lupe brings up to the principal is met with modifications to their lessons, meaning less time to learn the dance and be chosen to perform and earn that A… her classmates aren’t happy with her.

Advice from her Mexican-American grandmother and Chinese-American grandparents, the voice of experience from big brother, the memory of her late father… she’s just gotta try.

Doctor Who nights with autistic best friend Niles get cancelled, best friend Andy’s mom adds soccer to her overloaded schedule, and Lupe even gets the cold shoulder from her baseball team.

When her assigned partner is injured, Lupe has to dance alone! Now how can she be chosen for the performance and earn her A in PE?

Happy book birthday this week to this strong young woman and her cadre of friends!

When have you bucked tradition for what is right?
**kmm

Book info: Lupe Wong Won’t Dance / Donna Barba Higuera. Levine Querido, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Ailey longs for THE MAGIC IN CHANGING YOUR STARS, by Leah Henderson (middle grade book review)

book cover of The Magic in Changing Your Stars, by Leah Henderson. Published by Sterling Children's Books| recommended on BooksYALove.com

Frozen on the stage,
no voice, no dance steps!
His tryout is disastrous…

Ailey knew, absolutely without a doubt, that he’d be the perfect Scarecrow in The Wiz – but during tryouts at school, the Black 11 year old just blanked out, couldn’t dance or sing.

Moping around the family hardware store, Ailey learns that his grandfather was a phenomenal tap dancer as a kid and the great Bojangles Robinson gave him a special pair of tap shoes – but Grampa stopped dancing soon after.

In case there’s a bit of special left in those shoes and somehow Ailey gets to the next round of tryouts, he stealthily tries them on – and is transported to 1939 Harlem, near the theater where Bojangles himself is about to perform!

Can he find Grampa in this unfamiliar neighborhood?
Can Ailey keep secret that he’s from the future?
Can he get his grandfather on that stage so Bojangles can see his talent?

The same stars here as in Ailey’s Pennsylvania home town – maybe wishing and working will get things the way they’re supposed to be (and send Ailey back home)!

What wish are you willing to work to make come true?
**kmm

Book info: The Magic in Changing Your Stars / Leah Henderson. Sterling Children’s Books, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

B is BRAVE ENOUGH to beat the odds? by Kati Gardner (book review)

book cover of Brave Enough, by Kati Gardner. Published by Flux Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Dancing through pain is part of ballet,
Managing pain is part of cancer treatment,
Emotional pain makes both so much harder to handle.

Of course, Davis won’t get addicted to pain medications after chemo is done…

Of course, Cason will ace the national ballet audition and escape her mother’s perfectionism…

But the human body can only do so much, and the teen psyche copes as best it can.

The “minor strain” in Cason’s strong, perfect ballerina’s leg is instead life-threatening.

The need to escape back into drugs after months of rehab is so much stronger than Davis could ever imagine.

She’s in the Atlanta pediatric oncology ward for treatment, he’s there for community service, they get along well enough… maybe.

Is Cason brave enough to even walk again?
Can Davis walk away from the pills and pain he’s caused others?
Maybe time at Camp Chemo will help them both see a future…

+++++
The author is an actor, cancer survivor, and amputee. Her next #ownvoice book, Finding Balance , starts at Camp Chemo and will be published in May 2020.

When did an outside event make you change big plans?
**kmm

Book info: Brave Enough / Kati Gardner. Flux / NorthStar, 2018. [author Facebook] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Foster home safe for HOME GIRL Naomi? by Alex Wheatle (YA book review)

book cover of Home Girl, by Alex Wheatle. Published by Black Sheep/Akashic Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Not half-bad foster family, for once,
iccle bro and sis looking up to her –
why are they so nice?

After Mum died, Naomi took care of alcoholic Dad for years. Now the UK foster care system thinks the 14-year-old needs watching over…

Naomi’s hostility to foster families quickly exhausts her social worker’s options, and the white teen is placed temporarily with a black family.

Colleen and Tony are nice enough, their kids like Naomi, too – but Tony’s parents aren’t keen on a white girl taking space where a black foster kid could be safe.

Alternative school kids are quick with their fists and loud with slangy curses. The black girls there aren’t liking Naomi’s new cornrow braids…

When Colleen discovers Naomi’s love of urban dance, she arranges lessons at a real studio! Now isn’t the time for social services to place her with a suburban white family.

Just published in the US by Black Sheep/Akashic, Home Girl is the latest in Wheatle’s YA books set in working class British towns, examining personal identity, racial relations, and finding one’s place in the world.

When do we become ‘grown up enough’ to take on all of life’s responsibilities?
**kmm

Book info: Home Girl / Alex Wheatle. Black Sheep/Akashic Books, 2019. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.