Audition
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In the intense world of professional ballet, high school junior Sara finds herself on a path paved with sacrifice and passion.
“Stasia Ward Kehoe’s sinuous verse compellingly weaves this story of high-level dance, scandalous, romance, and personal sacrifice. A fine debut!”—Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of Crank
When high school junior Sara is offered a scholarship with the prestigious Jersey Ballet, there’s no way she can turn down the opportunity of a lifetime. But to accept it, she must leave her family and friends for a strange city. Suddenly, she’s thrust into a life of endless ballet classes and rehearsals, of juggling schoolwork with hours in the studio, of constantly being critiqued, corrected, and judged.
Overwhelmed and lonely, Sara connects with Remington, a brilliant up-and-coming choreographer. Though he’s too old for her, sparking scandal at the studio, Sara is thrilled to become Rem’s muse. But as the secrets pile up and Rem’s innovative dances start to attract wider attention, Sara wonders whose dreams she’s making come true.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Told through free-verse poetry, Kehoe's first novel about an aspiring ballerina pairs dancing with coming-of-age themes. When 16-year-old Sara receives a scholarship to study at the Jersey ballet, she moves from her rural childhood home in Vermont to dance with an intense choreographer. While she has natural talent, her technique pales next to the other girls, making her feel like a "backward ballerina." Even so, she catches the attention of an older dancer/budding choreographer, Remington, and begins a relationship with him, though Rem seems to be in charge of directing their romance. Between Rem, private school demands, and the ballet's "endless auditions, eternal scrutiny," Sara feels overwhelmed: "I've half forgotten/ Who wants this life I lead/ Or who ever really chose it to begin with." The author, who has a performing and choreography background, stages Sara's dance world clearly through her spare verse, from ballet moves and body aches to studio drama. Most of Sara's problems are predictable, but readers will empathize as she struggles with everything from sore shins to Rem's fickleness and whether she wants to continue dancing at all. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
Audition
Pretty good book, but not the best. You have to be a dancer though...