From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10 - Kayla, a talented ballet dancer, is a junior at Florida Arts High School (aka "Farts"). She's the sort of funny, generous person anyone would love to have for a best friend. But she has a big problem that is limiting the roles she is chosen for in school productions - her breasts are so large that they interfere with the visual composition of the performances. After
Cinderellatryouts, when Kayla is selected to play one of the ugly stepsisters instead of the coveted starring role, a dance teacher gently takes her aside to commiserate and suggests that she consider breast-reduction surgery. The teen is appalled, and her feminist sister, Paterson, is even more offended. Almost immediately, the students polarize into two camps: those who would "Save the Hooters" (boys) vs. those who would "Reduce the Rack" (mainly girls). The appearance in the locker room of red ballet shoes with a death threat ("Dancing in red shoes will kill you," from a Margaret Atwood poem) initially energizes Kayla into sleuthing, and she discovers that the line was meant to be an artistic statement about society's negative messages to girls and women. A subplot involving Paterson's controversial senior art project is better developed and more integral to the novel than the mystery of the shoes. It's a shame that a predictable ending, in which Kayla realizes that she does not want to force herself into conventional roles, mars this appealing story. Nonetheless, Cirrone is an author to watch, and libraries with healthy budgets should consider this title.
- Susan Riley, Mount Kisco Public Library, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Gr. 9-12. Three double-D-cup bras keep 16-year-old Kayla's "cantaloupe boobs" under control during ballet class, but when her breasts prevent her from nailing a part she deserves, her instructor advises plastic surgery. As Kayla contemplates her options, the whole student body at her arts high school weighs in on the "Whack the Rack" versus "Save the Hooters" dilemma. The drama escalates when blood-red toe shoes start appearing around school with the scary tagline, "Dancing in red shoes will kill you," an allusion to the disturbing Red Shoes folktale, which fuels an energetic discussion of gender issues and the feminine ideal. Readers' attention may stray when the emphasis shifts from Kayla's internal conflict to a censorship brouhaha over an "obscene" feminist art project. However, Cirrone's debut novel convincingly portrays teens' repartee with the ever-fertile issues of gender politics and self-expression. Combined with the unstinting supply of boob humor, this will keep many YAs, particularly those with breasts, amused and intellectually engaged.
Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
