From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—Theo, 17, is determined to become one of the few African American professional ballet dancers. While she's preparing for a high-stakes audition, flirting with a new crush (a talented pianist who also happens to be the local pot dealer), and recovering from a bout of anorexia, she learns that her best friend, Donovan, who went missing four years earlier, has suddenly returned. Donovan's kidnapper was Theo's former boyfriend, an adult who lied about his age to the then-13-year-old dancer. Theo thought what she and Trent (aka Chris) had was love, but she gradually realizes that it was actually something more sinister. Debut author Colbert bravely chooses realistic, if not necessarily happy resolutions to some subplots: Theo's decision to testify against Chris forces her to put her ballet career on hold, and what looks like a promising new romance turns unexpectedly sour. However, the abundance of high-interest motifs and devices (an unreliable narrator, statutory rape, kidnapping, eating disorders, and hints of the elite world of ballet) sometimes overloads the story, and the connections among them often feel forced. Libraries where All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry (Viking, 2013), Bunheads by Sophie Flack (Little, Brown, 2011), and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Viking, 2009) are popular will want to consider this title, as will those seeking to enhance their collection of books by and about strong African American women.—Jill Ratzan, I. L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ
Colbert’s strong debut believably portrays self-delusion through a first-person voice—readers will see the protagonist’s every mistake but also understand why she made them. Theo, 17, is heading toward the Summer Intensive auditions that should fast-track her ballet career. But that goal dovetails with a surprise: the return of former best friend Donovan, who disappeared four years ago. It is revealed that Donovan had been abducted by a man twice his age—Chris, who’d had an intense sexual relationship with Theo when she was 13. He’s a pedophile, though that word doesn’t appear until late in the novel. Theo’s love for Chris had seemed real, just as it does now for pot-smoking pianist Hosea. The central moral dilemma—should she risk damaging her ballet career by coming clean about her relationship with Chris at his trial?—is an effective one, though the book’s meat and potatoes is Theo’s struggle with love, lust, and loyalty. This is the latest in a bold new crop of gutsy, messy debuts, including Carrie Mesrobian’s Sex & Violence (2013) and Stephanie Kuehn’s Charm & Strange (2013). Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus
