Author: Sophie Flack
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: October 10th 2011
Review Source: Little, Brown and Company
Available: Amazon
Summary: (from goodreads) On-stage beauty. Backstage drama.
As a dancer with the ultra-prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward juggles intense rehearsals, dazzling performances and complicated backstage relationships. Up until now, Hannah has happily devoted her entire life to ballet.
But when she meets a handsome musician named Jacob, Hannah's universe begins to change, and she must decide if she wants to compete against the other "bunheads" in the company for a star soloist spot or strike out on her own in the real world. Does she dare give up the gilded confines of the ballet for the freedoms of everyday life?
You can tell that the author, Sophie Flack, had been through this experience because it was written from the prospective of some one who lived through a dancer's life. The story also brought back memories for me, since I took tap, ballet and jazz dance lessons from the age of 4 all the way through college. It was sort of like a walk, or maybe I should say dance, down memory lane in some ways...though I was never as hard core or intense as some of the other dancers or as Hannah or the others in the company.
In this book, Hannah's friends are her competition too. They all really want to become soloists and be the ONE ballerina in the spotlight. She works so hard and works her body to the point of exhaustion. Parts of the story were hard to read because she was starving herself to become thinner to gain the notice of the owner of the company, so that maybe should could earn a solo in one of the upcoming ballets.
Oh, and there is romance, too. A perfect, rich boy named Matt decides that Hannah should be his next starlet. He plans to wine and dine her and make her his. She also meets a cute guitar player named Jacob, when she goes to visit her cousin's restaurant in the city. Through the course of the book she tried to balance her friendships, dancing and dating Matt and Jacob...work with real life. As we all know, when you try to juggle too many things, you are destined to have a few of those balls drop from the sky. There were a number of times that I wanted to smack Hannah because of some of the choices she made, and others when I wanted to reach out and give her a big old hug.
If you have ties to dancing in your past (or present...or future, I guess), you'll enjoy this book, like I did. Even if you don't have dancing in your background, you'll love this story of a strong-willed young woman filled with a drive and passion for her career and a sprinkling of romance that will make your heart happy.
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I'm no dancer but I do love dance books and this was a pretty good one. I didn't care for the romance but I ate up every scene of the backstage drama!
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