Customer Reviews

Tour de Force: A Love Story

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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Review by Gretchen Hoffman

I love ballet. Although I never got past intermediate ballet class as a kid, I love going to see dance performances, and if there's a book about dancers, you bet it'll pique my interest.

Gillian Kincade is an upcoming ballet star in the New York dance scene. Jacob Ferrar left the glitz of performing to become an artistic director, focusing on dance that glorifies God. When Jacob offers Gilly the lead in his play, she has to decide where she's supposed to be. But after an accident, the dancing future for both becomes uncertain, and they must learn to trust where God leads.

This book was just as fantastic as I expected it to be. (The cover alone made me want to read this! Especially since I love ballet.) The main characters were so fun, and the secondary characters were just as intriguing and well written as the main ones. I especially liked how real everyone was. Gillian and Jacob were not perfect by any means--they struggled with how to express their Christianity in everyday life and where the line is between tolerance of others' lifestyles and still sticking up for morality and truth. Sometimes it seems like the characters in books have it all figured out, but Gilly and Jacob didn't, and the book didn't end with them suddenly being able to perfectly balance their ideals with non-Christians around them. Life doesn't always have simple answers, and this book showed that. Plus, Ms. White did an excellent job of showing God's miracles. Although miracles seem rare nowadays, God is always faithful, and miracles today are just as real as they ever were. An excellent read. I will be getting more of Elizabeth White's books for sure.

Every little girls dream is to be a ballerina, isn't it? I remember dancing for many years imagining what it would be like to be one. Unfortunately I have elephant feet and didn't get far (only took me 11 years to figure that out hehe)

So when Gillian (Gilly as her friends call her) get the opportunity to dance as a soloist there is no looking back - a whole new world opens up. But even more important to Gillian is her faith in Christ and how she displays it to her dance friends and family. To complicate her world she finds there may be more to life than dancing...

Tour de Force by Elizabeth White is definitely modern and thought provoking work of fiction. I was surprised by some of the topics and characters in her book (ie. her dance partner is gay, and her friend has an abortion) but in all honestly I do think it is a realistic look at the dance world and the characteristics of our fallen world.

I enjoyed White's heroine and her strong characteristics, yet innocence still in tact. I like that she presented the struggles right out and didn't side-step them but dealt with them.

A possible stumble for some people maybe that there are a lot of ballet terms in it. I like that White gives you the list of terms if your unfamiliar with them (it shows she knows her stuff), but it is easier if you actually know what they are or you'll be flipping a lot.

The only thing that bothered me was the minor detail of a minor character Graham the six year old nephew of the leading man Jacob(his sister died and he was the guardian). He reminded me more of my three year old instead of an actual six year old. He could have been cast as a three year old with the same effect. Anyhow, like I said minor detail lol

If you like raw emotion, a bit of romance, and some definite "issues" to be dealt with you'll enjoy this coming of age book a lot!

Reviewed by Cindy Loven

Gilly Kincaide, is an up and coming ballet dancer, with a bright future in New York. A small town girl from Alabama, she is a devout Christian, who lives her life out loud, with a positive witness to her fellow ballet troupe. An accident to another dancer places her in a lead role, which in turn thrusts her into two prominent ballets with lead dance positions.
I at first struggled getting into this book, becoming bogged down with the ballet terms, but I persevered and found a wonderful story. My personal tastes would have been fine, with subtle references to the ballet terms, instead of the in depth terms used.
The story unfolds with a former dancer Jacob Ferrar, now an artistic director of a ballet company, "discovering" Gilly for a part in the Nutcracker and even more important, wanting her to dance a original ballet he was developing for her in particular. However an accident, during a presentation to the board, threatens to end Gilly's career, and thrusts her into a whirlwind of confusion and faith testing situations.
This story will totally hold your interest as you follow along to see what develops between Gilly and Jacob. Your faith will grow as your see God work in each of their lives. This book is definitely worth reading. 326 pages [...]

I have waiting for Elizabeth White's new book for months. First because I love her writing, and secondly because it involves ballet! I have long been a fan of the ballet, the dancing, the music, and how it all comes together, beautiful.

Tour De Force features a character we have met before if you have read Elizabeth's book Off the Record. Laurel's sister Gilly is the main character. She is a fun spitfire character with a heart for the Lord. We also get to meet Jacob, who is a handsome, Godly man who loves his family and the ballet. We also get to meet some great characters such as Victoria and Dimitri. The driving force behind this book is the characters. We get to know each of the characters, where they are in life and where they are in their relationship, or lack thereof, with the Lord. One of my favorite things about Elizabeth's books is her development of her characters. You get to know Gilly and Jacob, their struggles, their triumphs, and their growth.

Tour De Force takes place in Alabama and New York. It was fun to see the differences in the culture between the two places, it is very distinctively different and Elizabeth does a fabulous job of showing the differences but keeping it realistic. It was also fun to get to know Gilly and Jacob's families and how they were important to them.

If you like character driven books full of romance, emotions, stumbles, and triumphs you will love Tour De Force!

The Review


This year has been a great time for me to discover Christian Fiction. Although I've read a considerable amount of Christian YA Fiction, this was my first adult Christian book that I've been presented for review. I have come to really enjoy reading stories about people struggling to lead honorable lives that radiate their faith. Being a Christian for many years, my relationship with God has been strong at times and weak at others. But the truth of my heart is that Jesus is at the center of it. However, for me, learning to live a life that honor that love is sometimes difficult when you've got the pressures of real life around you.

I admit that, at times, I've been angry with God and at other times I've completely lived to glorify him. What is interesting to me about reading fiction with the heroes/heroines as strong Christians, is that I am reminded that you can make good choices in your life that honor your faith. In the case of this story, our heroine Gilly is a prima ballerina for BNY. She's world traveled and at the beginning of the height of her career. She's got a very supportive family who helps to keep her rooted in her faith. On the other hand, she works amidst a secular team of people who she feels the innate need to exhibit her love of God to. The great thing about Gilly is that she attempts to demonstrate this through the witnessing of her life rather than the use of preaching of words.

Gilly meets Jacob and the reader knows that this duo is headed for a destiny of marriage and family. However, their age difference, lifestyle, and work commitments refrain them from making a logistic connection. Despite the odds stacked against them, they have God at the center of their relationship. With this in place, there is not much that either of them can do to avoid the inevitable... which is an eventual future together.

In addition to my ability to relate to this book from a Christian viewpoint, I also easily bonded with the book as it centered around dance. Dance, music, and the performing arts have been my passion since I was a young girl. Dance lessons were a very important part of my life and my heart. Although I was not a ballet dancer, I've taken many a course in my past. And, I love love love to watch ballet. So, this read just drew me in and held me there... in first position!

Overall, this book was just RIGHT UP MY ALLEY! Dance, love, God... what more can I ask for? It was the perfect read for me.


The Rating

On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale," I would rate this book an 8.5 out of 10. I think that Elizabeth White wrote a very solid book! I enjoyed the characters of Gilly, Victoria, Jabob, Graham, and Dimtri very much. In addition to the cast of characters, I loved the way that White used the element of tragedy and miracles to confirm God's work in our lives. It was just what I needed to remind me of the possibility of God's miracles in my own life.

When I was growing up, you had to look hard to find a little girl who didn't harbor dreams of becoming a ballerina one day. While mine may have been more low-key than that of most girls, I did have pretty wallpaper with chubby ballerinas on it in multi-coloured costumes in a plethora of positions. When a belief that I was clumsy put the binders on my ballerina dreams, my love for dance went undercover. I devoured any movie prominently featuring dance and lived vicariously through Ballet Shoes. It's no wonder I couldn't resist reading Elizabeth White's Christian ballerina romance Tour de Force.

White drops her Christian ballerina smack-dab in the center of a profession well known for it's cut-throat competitiveness, sexual immorality and the fanatical dedication of its dancers (even to the point of self-harm). Gillian Kincade (Gilly) is a talented young dancer who has just made soloist with Ballet New York. When Jacob Ferrar, the artistic director of the Birmingham Ballet Theatre sees her dance, the seed of an entirely new Christian ballet is formed in his mind.

As Gilly and Jacob brainstorm the new project at a distance, a tender romance begins to bloom between them. When a disastrous first performance of a scene from the new ballet for Jacob's board of directors casts everything into doubt, both Gilly's career and the growing feelings between the pair reach an impasse.

Tour de Force is a fairly straightforward, sweet romance that remains rather straight-laced despite the risqué profession it portrays. The moral pitfalls of the ballet world are clearly presented while never becoming explicit. Jacob's own sin-filled past as an unbeliever are present in guardedness and caution in his character and Gilly's interactions with her unbelieving fellow dancers are both gentle and grace-filled while standing uncompromisingly for God's standards.

Sometimes you see a title of a book and are interested in it, other times the cover makes you pick it up and look at it. Well, with Tour de Force, the cover made me immediately want to read the book, without even reading anything about it. I was so excited for the book just because the cover was so beautiful, and I knew the book was going to be great. And it surely did not disappoint me! I absolutely loved it!!!!

Gilly Kincade is a rising ballet dancer in New York. Because of another dancer's injury, Gilly was asked to fill in for a lead role. That same night, another former dancer turned choreographer, Jacob Ferrar, was attending the ballet to invite two dancers to be showcased in a special program in Alabama. When Gilly is in Alabama, Jacob asks her to perform a special dance for his board of directors in order to showcase a new ballet. But tragedy hits and Gilly is injured. Will she be able recover and dance again? Will Jacob forgive himself for Gilly's injury? Will Jacob and Gilly be able to sort out their uncertain future?

What an amazing book! As soon as saw the picture I knew I was going to like this book, even more so once I read the description. This book did not let me down and will become a keeper. This is the first time I have read anything by Elizabeth White and would defiantly read her again.

In Tour de Force, Gillian Kincaide is an aspiring ballet dancer working her way up with the Ballet New York. When a soloist is injured she gets that chance to dance Odette in Swan Lake which leads her to become a full time soloist with the ballet.

Jacob Ferrar used to dance with the Ballet New York as well as in Spain but now he has left that world and is an artistic director in Alabama. He main focus is following God and showing Him through dance. When Jacob first sees Gillian dance Odette he is mesmerized and wants her to dance the lead for him in his new ballet about Mary and Martha.

When Gillian gets hurt while dancing with Jacob everything gets tested. Jacob questions whether he really should quit the dance world to persue physical therapy and Gillain worries of wear her career will go and what is devoloping with Jacob.

I would recommend this book to everyone, it is a great, fun, fast read and one you won't regret reading.

I received this book from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review.

This book really sets the bar for Christian fiction. It isn't silly or unrealistic; it is a simple story of following after God.

This story really captivated my attention. I LOVE dancing, and have been peforming since I was 11-years old. Once I gave my life to the Lord, not only did I change, but so did my dance, as well. I love how this story incorporates three of my favorite things: God, dance & romance into one. And, above all, I like how the main character relates to me because, just like her, I want to spend the rest of my life dancing for the Lord! Amen!