#BookReview: Pointe, Claw by @amberjkeyser

Jessie Vale dances in an elite ballet program that requires perfection to land a spot with the professional company. When she is cast in an animalistic avant garde production, her careful composure cracks wide open. Nothing has felt more dangerous.

Meanwhile, her friend Dawn McCormick's world is full of holes. She wakes in strange places, bruised, battered, and unable to speak. The doctors are out of ideas.

These childhood friends are both running out of time. Jessie has one shot at her ballet dream. Dawn's blackouts are getting worse. At every turn, they crash into the many ways girls are watched, judged, used, and discarded. Should they play it safe or go feral? 

Amber J. Keyser is former ballerina and evolutionary biologist who writes both fiction and nonfiction for tweens and teens. Her young adult novel THE WAY BACK FROM BROKEN (Carolrhoda Lab, 2015) is a heart-wrenching story of loss and survival. THE V-WORD (Beyond Words, 2016) is an anthology of personal essays by women about first time sexual experiences. 
Her other books include the nonfiction title SNEAKER CENTURY: A HISTORY OF ATHLETIC SHOES (Twenty-First Century Books, 2015); a picture book, AN ALGONQUIN HEART SONG: PADDLE MY OWN CANOE (FOAP, 2007); two graphic novels about science, THE BASICS OF CELL LIFE WITH MAX AXIOM (Capstone Press, 2010) and DECODING GENES WITH MAX AXIOM (Capstone Press, 2010) as well as a photo-illustrated nonfiction title, ANATOMY OF A PANDEMIC (Capstone Press, 2011). She is the co-author with Kiersi Burkhart of the middle grade series QUARTZ CREEK RANCH (Darby Creek, 2016).

I love ballet so much. If I were a lot more flexible and could memorize things a little better, I would so be doing it professionally right now. This story was a beautiful one and a sad one. It showed the good things and the bad things that come with friendship and the many things that can come between friends. I was almost crying at some points but I totally recommend this book!!

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Posted in: 4 Stars, Review, Young Adult