A review by reader_fictions
Friday Night Stage Lights by Rachele Alpine
4.0
Despite my general lack of interest in middle grade, I wanted to read Friday Night Stage Lights for one reason: that adorable cover which hinted at the possibility of a super cute hate to love middle grade ship. Turns out, I was absolutely wrong about that, but the book was good I didn't even mind the lack of romance.
Brooklyn and her mom moved to Texas to live with her new stepdad and stepbrother. She likes them fine, and she's glad her mom's happy, but she hates that they were the ones who had to move just because her stepbrother is some high school football superstar. For that, she was forced to move away from all of her friends and work on her ballet somewhere new.
Brooklyn has so many emotional arcs in this book, and it's truly a thing of beauty. She makes new friends (without losing her old bestie, which isn't something you see a lot of). She bonds with her stepbrother enough to actually consider him a real brother. Her relationship with her mom undergoes some needed TLC. She befriends a football player and learns that maybe it's not the worst thing in the world after all (and the football team learns that ballet is fucking hard).
Most importantly, Brooklyn has an internal emotional arc. After a disastrous solo attempt, she's afraid to perform alone and audition for TSOTA (Texas School of the Arts, which would help put her on track for her goal of Juilliard). Brooklyn needs to rediscover her true love of dance and her confidence with her own talent.
This was a great middle grade. I read it straight through and had a lot of fun. There are great emotional arcs and it deals with subjects a lot of kids go through in a really hopeful way.
Brooklyn and her mom moved to Texas to live with her new stepdad and stepbrother. She likes them fine, and she's glad her mom's happy, but she hates that they were the ones who had to move just because her stepbrother is some high school football superstar. For that, she was forced to move away from all of her friends and work on her ballet somewhere new.
Brooklyn has so many emotional arcs in this book, and it's truly a thing of beauty. She makes new friends (without losing her old bestie, which isn't something you see a lot of). She bonds with her stepbrother enough to actually consider him a real brother. Her relationship with her mom undergoes some needed TLC. She befriends a football player and learns that maybe it's not the worst thing in the world after all (and the football team learns that ballet is fucking hard).
Most importantly, Brooklyn has an internal emotional arc. After a disastrous solo attempt, she's afraid to perform alone and audition for TSOTA (Texas School of the Arts, which would help put her on track for her goal of Juilliard). Brooklyn needs to rediscover her true love of dance and her confidence with her own talent.
This was a great middle grade. I read it straight through and had a lot of fun. There are great emotional arcs and it deals with subjects a lot of kids go through in a really hopeful way.