On Pointe
 | |
| Author | Lorie Ann Grover |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's |
| Publisher | Margaret K. McElderry |
| Publication date | May 25, 2004 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 320 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-689-86525-1 |
| OCLC | 52386493 |
| LC Class | PZ7.G9305 On 2004 |
On Pointe is a children's novel about an aspiring ballet dancer by Lorie Ann Grover, first published in 2004.
It was nominated for the 2006 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award.[1]
Plot summary
[edit]This story is told in free verse. The novel centers on 16-year-old Clare, who has dreamed of becoming a dancer all her life and has worked hard to achieve her dreams. She hopes to be selected for City Ballet, a program for very skilled dancers, although there are only sixteen positions available. After a growth spurt, she is judged too tall for professional ballet and advised to take a dance class for adult amateurs. It seems her dream is crushed, but when her grandfather has a stroke, losing the ability to talk and move his right side, her perspective alters.
Reception
[edit]School Library Journal said that the novel was "finely written", and commented of the main character that "the teen's voice rings true".[2] Publishers Weekly described it as "well-wrought" with "an air of authenticity".[3] Booklist was less positive, feeling that the grandfather's stroke was "perhaps overly convenient" and that the "shift in focus from ballet-studio pressures to family dynamics feels a bit jarring".[2] Kirkus Reviews said that the protagonist was "almost too good to be true, but she'll appeal to teens interested in dance".[3]
References
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