April 22, 2025 by Lee & Low Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Florencia del Lago is heavily involved in ballet, and her mother is insistent that she can be the first Latine Clara in their Provo, Utah hometown's production of The Nutcracker. She aces the audition, but her best friend Selena draws the unpleasant ire of Madame Sophie. Fellow dancers Tenlee and Zoe make unpleasant, racist comments about Florencia's "suitability" to be Clara. Dance takes a lot of time, and not only are Florencia's grades suffering, but she has a lot of anxiety. When the family is running late for the final production because of a snowstorm, Florencia has a panic attack. In the end, she ends up dropping out of dance and starting therapy. Her mother gets a job to help with costs, and her father and older brother Ariel are there to support her. For her birthday, Florencia is looking forward to spending time at the mall with Selena, and invites Tenlee and Zoe as well, to be "the bigger person", since her long time bestie spends a lot of time with them. Things go badly wrong when Selena shoplifts and puts the blame on Florencia, and the resultant social media flurry about this seeps into Florencia's school, even though Selena goes elsewhere. The only thing that helps her deal with all of this is her therapist and her dog. There's plenty more to add to her anxiety, when Selena's dog gets out and Florencia almost gets running over helping, and there is a frightening lockdown drill at school. The drill, at least, puts Florencia in contact with Candy, a young social media influencer with diabetes whose fame isn't known at school, and Larkin, who does Irish dance. Florencia had been to the studio and liked the positivity, and ends up taking lessons there. She feels confident enough to compete in the local feis, and is glad to be back dancing.
Strengths: Many of my students take part in dance, but there are very few books about it. (Maybe the parents whose children are involved are too busy ferrying them about and bedazzling costumes to have time to write?) I'm a big fan of children being involved in activities, and it is understandable that when ballet ends poorly, Florencia wants to do something else but feels burned by her experiences. Her sessions with her therapist offer lots of good advice that readers in similar situations can take to heart. The online drama is a good cautionary tale. Shop lifting is another topic that doesn't get much coverage, and is oddly intriguing to read about and yet also a good cautionary tale. Mendez is really on a roll with her recent The Beautiful Game and her The Trouble with Sunshine, about soccer and equestrian pursuits, respectively.
Weaknesses: There is a LOT going on in this book. It almost would have been better as a two book series, since it is over 350 long. Also, I've never really read anything positive about being in ballet. Why, then, do so many tweens take part in it?
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked the combination studying dance and dealing with friend drama in Ziegler's The Audition or Kim's Make a Move, Sunnny Park.
Weaknesses: There is a LOT going on in this book. It almost would have been better as a two book series, since it is over 350 long. Also, I've never really read anything positive about being in ballet. Why, then, do so many tweens take part in it?
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked the combination studying dance and dealing with friend drama in Ziegler's The Audition or Kim's Make a Move, Sunnny Park.
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