On Pointe [Paperback]

Lorie Ann Grover (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008 | Age Level: 8 and up

Our feet slip
into satin shoes
with stiff shanks,
hard boxing,
tight elastic,
and slippery ribbons
that wrap and end
in hard knots.
The frayed edges
are crammed
out of sight.
We stand.
A row of bound feet
rises
to its toes.

For as long as she can remember, Clare and her family have had a dream: Someday Clare will be a dancer in City Ballet Company. For ten long years Clare has been taking ballet lessons, watching what she eats, giving up friends and a social life, and practicing until her feet bleed -- all for the sake of that dream. And now, with the audition for City Ballet Company right around the corner, the dream feels so close.

But what if the dream doesn't come true? The competition for the sixteen spots in the company is fierce, and many won't make it. Talent, dedication, body shape, size -- everything will influence the outcome. Clare's grandfather says she is already a great dancer, but does she really have what it takes to make it into the company? And if not, then what?

Told through passionate and affecting poems in Clare's own voice, On Pointe soars with emotion as it explores what it means to reach for a dream -- and the way that dreams can change as quickly and suddenly as do our lives.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10–In this introspective novel told in free verse, Clare poignantly describes her struggles to reach her dream of becoming one of 16 dancers chosen for the City Ballet Company. At the beginning and the end of her story, the voices of other dancers provide added perspectives on what drives young people to the dedication needed to become a ballet dancer. From the details of the dance-class routines and the tensions and competition among the dancers to the intimate family crises, the teen's voice rings true. Her sense of failure is convincingly portrayed when she is told that she is too tall to join the company, as is her gradual realization that her years of training were not wasted. The relationship between her and her mother, who has made her daughter's dream her own, is insightfully described. When Clare's grandfather has a stroke, the family rallies around him and is forced to focus on something besides the disappointment about the ballet. Clare begins to refocus her life and appreciate the fact that her love of dance is important to her. This finely written novel touches on contemporary themes such as body image leading to bulimia, overly ambitious parents, and aging grandparents who can no longer live alone.–Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Clare, a talented ballet student, refuses to define what she does as "dancing." First she must bloody her feet, strain her muscles, be perfect in every way; then she'll earn a place in the prestigious City Ballet and be a real dancer. Clare's wise, loving grandfather, with whom she lives while taking lessons, believes this definition is too limited, but Clare refuses to listen--until she's dismissed from her program for being too tall. Devastated, Clare begins to confront a terrifying question: "What do you do / if they don't let you / learn to dance"? Her self-discovery is hastened by a (perhaps overly convenient) family crisis, during which relationships new and redefined help her understand that she can't allow arbitrary, external forces to stifle what gives her joy. The novel-in-verse's shift in focus from ballet-studio pressures to family dynamics feels a bit jarring, but it does make Clare's conflict more universally accessible, with appeal for balletomanes as well as readers who don't know a battement from a changement. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416978267
• ISBN-13: 978-1416978268
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #637,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. I used to pretend to read before I could by carrying around Nancy Drew books and flipping through the pages. I studied ballet for ten years and was a member of the Miami Ballet Company. When I grew too tall for the profession, I turned my focus to fine art at the University of Miami. Soon my love for the written word yielded three novels and board books. I live in Washington state, am married, and have two daughters.

When I'm not writing, I'm working as a readergirlz diva! I love our passionate, award winning, online book community for teen girls. Feel free drop in and chat with us!

Otherwise, I'll see you between the pages, board books or YA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT, July 22, 2004

By 

Seaside Booklover (Wrentham, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Pointe (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my daughter and after skimming through it I sat down and read it myself. Although the book is somewhat about ballet - anyone who has ever had a dream, a family, and some rough times growing up will relate. What I loved most is the author writes with such clarity from each character's perspective. She voices opinions that real teenagers have as well as letting you know how the adult characters feel. Worth every penny.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her Brevity is Brilliant, June 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: On Pointe (Hardcover)

In her second novel, ON POINTE, Lorie Ann Grover appears to follow the philosophy that less is more; and quite brilliantly. The brevity of her prose punctuates each idea that she very carefully sculpts for her reader. While wordiness may appeal to some, Grover is skilled at painting sketches in vivid, powerful colors getting right to the heart of the matter.

Her books are in the young novel category, but her publishers might find it interesting that many of her readers are grown women. Grover writes about hard hitting issues that many contemporary women have grown up with. Her characters are young women on the threshold of adulthood, but their thoughts are reminiscent of the tape that has played through every grown woman's mind at various points in time with themes that our society pounds into the female psyche.

As an avid reader of non-fiction, Grover's works are the first fiction I've read in years -- again quite by accident as my daughter encouraged me to read both ON POINTE and LOOSE THREADS.In turn, I encourage other women to read her work.

In loose terms, Grover could be a modern day Emily Dickinson. The only recommendation is that Simon & Schuster change marketing plans to reach Grover's widest potential audience.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On Pointe, February 23, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: On Pointe (Hardcover)

On Pointe is a novel-in-verse book written long poem form. This book is for the most part an easy read. You wont want to put it down. This book shows the life of a girl named Clare and her dream of becoming a member of the City Ballet Company.

Clare is faced with different problems between her parents, and the kids fighting for the same spot she is. This book is for anyone who enjoys dance or just reading about a girl who is trying to live out her dream.