Joyce Collins desperately wants to be accepted into the popular circle, and when she is cut from the ballet recital, she is devastated, until she joins an African dance troupe and quickly discovers a place where she truly feels she belongs. Reprint. H.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
An inner-city African American girl joins an African dance group after her high school ballet teacher says her body isn't aesthetically pleasing; PW called the story "believably paced and powerfully realized." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 9-12 Joyce Collins stumbles through an array of adolescent crises, emerging by story's end with self-respect and recognition as a dancer. In the nitty-gritty language and world of an urban black teenager, 15-year-old Joyce rebuffs the advances of an older man, struggles for acceptance with snobbish peers, mourns an unrequited love, and aspires to a dancing career denied her lonely mother. Physique, not technique, excludes Joyce from her high school's classical ballet production of Sleeping Beauty. By accident, she intrudes on a practice session of African dancers. Joining the group, Joyce finds that her spirit, style, and abilities are at last unleashed in this dance form which reveals her talents. Although the introductory emphasis on Joyce's big ``butt'' and bustline and her subsequent sexual allure is heavy-handed, Williams-Garcia goes on to convey Joyce's eagerness to dance, hunger for acceptance, and need to be loved. In the end, Joyce develops a greater sensitivity to others and accepts responsibility for her own actions. She is no longer just ``Blue Tights'' to her ballet teacher or an object of ridicule among her peers. Readers will relate to Joyce's adolescent mood swings, be swept along with her dancing exuberance, and applaud her final success and independence. Gerry Larson, Chewning Junior High School, Durham, N.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blue TIghts- Great Book!,
This review is from: Blue Tights (Mass Market Paperback)
I thought that this was a great book. It's perfect for aspiring performers and shows how far people would go to get what they want. It's perfect for young adults.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The 2:15 Special was pulling in alongside Mays department store on Jamaica Avenue twelve seconds short of all hell spilling over. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dance bag, blue tights, big butt Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Andre Miller, Ann Sobol, Sleeping Beauty, Cambria Heights, South Jamaica, Dance Conservatory, Cindi's Sweet Sixteen, Joyce Collins, Pastor Logan New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The 2:15 Special was pulling in alongside Mays department store on Jamaica Avenue twelve seconds short of all hell spilling over. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dance bag, blue tights, big butt Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Andre Miller, Ann Sobol, Sleeping Beauty, Cambria Heights, South Jamaica, Dance Conservatory, Cindi's Sweet Sixteen, Joyce Collins, Pastor Logan New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 22
books:
See all 22 books this book cites
22
books
cite this book:
See all 22 books citing this book
- Just Like Martin by Ossie Davis in Front Matter
- The Road to Memphis by Mildred D. Taylor in Front Matter
- Charlie Pippin by Candy Dawson Boyd in Front Matter
- Standing by by Terry Miller on page 53
- Martin Luther King JR (Heroes of America (Abdo)) by Herb Boyd in Front Matter
See all 22 books this book cites
- Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with Societal Issues (The Greenwood Press Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Series) by Pamela Sissi Carroll on page 56, page 71, and page 77
- Broken Silences: Interviews with Black and White Women Writers by Shirley M. Jordan on page 172, page 182, and page 184
- Exploring Diversity: Literature Themes and Activities for Grades 4-8 by Jean E Brown on page 66, page 88, and Back Matter
- Theme-Sets for Secondary Students: How to Scaffold Core Literature by Jeannine D. Richison on page 32, and Back Matter
- Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia in Front Matter, and Back Matter
See all 22 books citing this book
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