From Publishers Weekly
As in Erika Tamar's Alphabet City Ballet (reviewed above), the heroine of this impressive first novel is a minority student at a prestigious ballet school. Unlike Tamar's starry-eyed younger heroine, however, 14-year-old Vicki has experienced subtle racism in classes where "visual harmony" is as highly regarded as a perfect pirouette, and she has tried her best to fit in. Vicki's recently divorced parents have both worked hard to instill in her an appreciation of her African American heritage, but Vicki is more interested in ballet: "Everything that's important to me doesn't have much to do with the color of my skin." She is thrilled to attend a summer session of the School of American Ballet in New York, to work at her art as well as to nurse her elaborate, "color-blind" daydreams about Mikhail Baryshnikov. The friends she makes while at the school, especially a teenage boy from Harlem, help pull Vicki out of her narrow fantasies. She begins to face her daily frustrations in and out of Lincoln Center, and to realize that she cannot ignore the issue of race any more than her unhappiness with her parents' divorce. Southgate offers a poignant account of self-discovery, convincingly hopeful and steadfast in its refusal to settle for easy solutions. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-Vicki Harris, 14, is one of two African Americans accepted into the summer program at New York City's School of American Ballet. She is a compulsive dancer and feels ready for the competition of this time-consuming endeavor. She is not ready, however, to face the racism within the program and begins to doubt her ability. Vicki makes friends with the other black student and experiences her first love with Michael, a black teen from Harlem. Her obsessive adoration of Baryshnikov leads to disappointment when she finally meets him. Vicki spends her summer with her Aunt Hannah, who becomes a strong adult role model in place of her divorced parents. The story reads smoothly, the characters are well drawn, and readers feel satisfaction when Vicki accepts herself as a good, but not great ballet dancer. The author has written a fine first novel dealing with the challenge of trying to break into a profession that does not make much room for African Americans. She has also given readers a portrait of a young woman striving for perfection and, ultimately, feeling good about herself.
Judy R. Johnston, Auburn High School, WACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
