inthelunaseas's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts off like other standard YA ballet works. A young girl, with no training, aspires to be a prima ballerina and must beat the snooty other dancer in her class who can afford lessons and the like. Casey, our narrator, is poor and loves to dance everywhere but can't afford to go to a ballet school. She believes she's ready to attend the American School of Ballet in NYC, and although she has never done her tendus and fondues and grand battements in a classroom, she has 'checked out every book on ballet in the library'. So off she trots to NYC to try her hand at a scholarship...
...and ultimately fails to get one. Because she's not cut out for a top ballet school, because she's never had lessons. However, Miss Priss, as she's dubbed, tells Casey (and the reader) that she has worked her arse off to get where she is and she deserves the scholarship. Her feet are bleeding, she constantly practices, and dammit, some layabout from the street isn't going to take that from her.
Now, Balanchine (who, lol, is in this book, which is both awesome and highly amusing) does tell Casey to try out for contemporary dance, and Casey is awesome at it and so on. I worry a little that [a:Sarah Rubin|4151377|Sarah Rubin|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] is fobbing contemporary off as an idea that it's for would-be ballerinas who just aren't cut out for the ballet world. Contemporary is just as hard as ballet, and requires just as much work and stamina. It's not an easy out. But I digress- this could be blamed on the late 50s/early 60s setting.
I like that Casey had to find another dream. You just can't waltz into a ballet studio- and not at a top school as that, either- and get a scholarship by dancing with your heart alone. You can't learn ballet from a book, and I like that Balanchine (pfft) pointed that out to Casey. She didn't have the technique right. She needed to work on it.
Now, the story otherwise is simple, and the characters easy to follow. I liked Rubin's writing style, with its casual, laidback air, and slightly lazy, vaguely uneducated teen manner. If she writes any other books on this topic I'll go search them out- she seems to get that dance is hard work, something many authors, I found, have lacked.
...and ultimately fails to get one. Because she's not cut out for a top ballet school, because she's never had lessons. However, Miss Priss, as she's dubbed, tells Casey (and the reader) that she has worked her arse off to get where she is and she deserves the scholarship. Her feet are bleeding, she constantly practices, and dammit, some layabout from the street isn't going to take that from her.
Now, Balanchine (who, lol, is in this book, which is both awesome and highly amusing) does tell Casey to try out for contemporary dance, and Casey is awesome at it and so on. I worry a little that [a:Sarah Rubin|4151377|Sarah Rubin|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] is fobbing contemporary off as an idea that it's for would-be ballerinas who just aren't cut out for the ballet world. Contemporary is just as hard as ballet, and requires just as much work and stamina. It's not an easy out. But I digress- this could be blamed on the late 50s/early 60s setting.
I like that Casey had to find another dream. You just can't waltz into a ballet studio- and not at a top school as that, either- and get a scholarship by dancing with your heart alone. You can't learn ballet from a book, and I like that Balanchine (pfft) pointed that out to Casey. She didn't have the technique right. She needed to work on it.
Now, the story otherwise is simple, and the characters easy to follow. I liked Rubin's writing style, with its casual, laidback air, and slightly lazy, vaguely uneducated teen manner. If she writes any other books on this topic I'll go search them out- she seems to get that dance is hard work, something many authors, I found, have lacked.
ojaswisharma's review against another edition
3.0
Really a 3.5. I loved this book as a child and I think its a great one that strikes the perfect balance between real and floof.
inthelunaseas's review
4.0
This book starts off like other standard YA ballet works. A young girl, with no training, aspires to be a prima ballerina and must beat the snooty other dancer in her class who can afford lessons and the like. Casey, our narrator, is poor and loves to dance everywhere but can't afford to go to a ballet school. She believes she's ready to attend the American School of Ballet in NYC, and although she has never done her tendus and fondues and grand battements in a classroom, she has 'checked out every book on ballet in the library'. So off she trots to NYC to try her hand at a scholarship...
...and ultimately fails to get one. Because she's not cut out for a top ballet school, because she's never had lessons. However, Miss Priss, as she's dubbed, tells Casey (and the reader) that she has worked her arse off to get where she is and she deserves the scholarship. Her feet are bleeding, she constantly practices, and dammit, some layabout from the street isn't going to take that from her.
Now, Balanchine (who, lol, is in this book, which is both awesome and highly amusing) does tell Casey to try out for contemporary dance, and Casey is awesome at it and so on. I worry a little that [a:Sarah Rubin|4151377|Sarah Rubin|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] is fobbing contemporary off as an idea that it's for would-be ballerinas who just aren't cut out for the ballet world. Contemporary is just as hard as ballet, and requires just as much work and stamina. It's not an easy out. But I digress- this could be blamed on the late 50s/early 60s setting.
I like that Casey had to find another dream. You just can't waltz into a ballet studio- and not at a top school as that, either- and get a scholarship by dancing with your heart alone. You can't learn ballet from a book, and I like that Balanchine (pfft) pointed that out to Casey. She didn't have the technique right. She needed to work on it.
Now, the story otherwise is simple, and the characters easy to follow. I liked Rubin's writing style, with its casual, laidback air, and slightly lazy, vaguely uneducated teen manner. If she writes any other books on this topic I'll go search them out- she seems to get that dance is hard work, something many authors, I found, have lacked.
...and ultimately fails to get one. Because she's not cut out for a top ballet school, because she's never had lessons. However, Miss Priss, as she's dubbed, tells Casey (and the reader) that she has worked her arse off to get where she is and she deserves the scholarship. Her feet are bleeding, she constantly practices, and dammit, some layabout from the street isn't going to take that from her.
Now, Balanchine (who, lol, is in this book, which is both awesome and highly amusing) does tell Casey to try out for contemporary dance, and Casey is awesome at it and so on. I worry a little that [a:Sarah Rubin|4151377|Sarah Rubin|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] is fobbing contemporary off as an idea that it's for would-be ballerinas who just aren't cut out for the ballet world. Contemporary is just as hard as ballet, and requires just as much work and stamina. It's not an easy out. But I digress- this could be blamed on the late 50s/early 60s setting.
I like that Casey had to find another dream. You just can't waltz into a ballet studio- and not at a top school as that, either- and get a scholarship by dancing with your heart alone. You can't learn ballet from a book, and I like that Balanchine (pfft) pointed that out to Casey. She didn't have the technique right. She needed to work on it.
Now, the story otherwise is simple, and the characters easy to follow. I liked Rubin's writing style, with its casual, laidback air, and slightly lazy, vaguely uneducated teen manner. If she writes any other books on this topic I'll go search them out- she seems to get that dance is hard work, something many authors, I found, have lacked.
terraineel's review
3.0
After reading the great and phenomenal Morning Star, I was in a major reading period. I saw this book, which was a book from my childhood, on the shelf and picked it up and read it all in about an hour. Meh, is all I could say. Just picked it up to feel nostalgic and try to get over a book slump. Not successful for both targets.
textandtunes's review
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Cute story about a girl dreaming to become a dancer. She's very determined.
Probably best for age 8
Probably best for age 8
ojaswisharma's review
3.0
Really a 3.5. I loved this book as a child and I think its a great one that strikes the perfect balance between real and floof.
More...