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jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 A disappointing entry from a writer who is otherwise an auto-buy for me. Cullinan's books are usually quite character-driven, and the protagonists here are quite appealing: a white kindergarten teacher who spent years in the foster care system, and a Mexican-American who is working three jobs to support himself, his undocumented parents, and his sister's three children. The two live in the same building in St. Paul, Minnesota, but don't really interact until a teen from the dance studio where Tomás works shows up on their doorstep, beaten and bleeding, and Spencer takes him in. The boy, Duon, was beaten by his cousins for being gay, and Spencer ends up becoming a "suitable other," something a little less than a foster parent, to him. Spencer is cautious, quiet, and shy, and Tomás is so busy working that the two have very little time to spend together, but they eventually manage to develop an attachment.
Their relationship, though, takes second place to the book's efforts to inform its readers about the problems of foster care system for gay teens, as well as about the plight of the undocumented, which leads to a book that often reads more like nonfiction than fiction. And because the story unfolds over eight months (the eight months between when Minnesota voted against an amendment banning same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court's overturning of DOMA), there is a lot of telling, summarizing of events over time, rather than showing our two protagonists actually interacting with one another. When Cullinan does show her protagonists in scenes with one another, those scenes are great. I only wish there had been more of them.
Their relationship, though, takes second place to the book's efforts to inform its readers about the problems of foster care system for gay teens, as well as about the plight of the undocumented, which leads to a book that often reads more like nonfiction than fiction. And because the story unfolds over eight months (the eight months between when Minnesota voted against an amendment banning same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court's overturning of DOMA), there is a lot of telling, summarizing of events over time, rather than showing our two protagonists actually interacting with one another. When Cullinan does show her protagonists in scenes with one another, those scenes are great. I only wish there had been more of them.
tellingetienne's review against another edition
4.0
Classic Cullinan! Sweet and perfectly paced this novel has all the happy endings any reader of Cullinan's work has come to expect. And if you are new to her work, this would be a great place to pick it up, for all that it's a sequel.
suze_1624's review against another edition
4.0
A lovely follow up but I don't think I got the same feels as I did with Ed and Laurie.
This book is more about issues and all very pertinent issues at that. And each in its own way very provoking and emotional.
Both Thomas and Spenser have seen the dark side of the system and I liked that they were both there for Duon. And their slow romance was suitable to their personalities. I didn't get the same feel of their dancing as I did for Ed and Laurie but their story was driven by different reasons.
Spenser's letter to himself did get a lump to the throat.
And I did have to look up male dancers on pointe.
This book is more about issues and all very pertinent issues at that. And each in its own way very provoking and emotional.
Both Thomas and Spenser have seen the dark side of the system and I liked that they were both there for Duon. And their slow romance was suitable to their personalities. I didn't get the same feel of their dancing as I did for Ed and Laurie but their story was driven by different reasons.
Spenser's letter to himself did get a lump to the throat.
And I did have to look up male dancers on pointe.
tiggers_hate_acorns's review
5.0
What a great sequel. Had me on the edge of my seat waiting for the axe to fall on Tomas and his family or for Spenser's headmaster to get nasty.
5 stars
5 stars
regencyfan93's review against another edition
4.0
It was great to see Duon again. Even though he wasn't a main character in this book, he was the cause of the action.
Tomas' mother seemed like a real person to me. That is, I can picture my mother buying things that she thought the other person would like, even when they told her No. I could imagine the saint candle that Tomas' mother left burning in the kitchen.
This was a pleasant addition to the Halcyon Center family. I look forward to Doun's book. I'd like to see Sally again, the woman who made sure that every child had a Christmas present.
To me, Heidi Cullinan books are comfort reads. There will be troubles, but I know they will get resolved. There isn't too much angst. There may be some haters in the book, but the supportive people are more prevalent and more important.
I look forward to the next Cullinan treat.
____________________________
My rating - 5 outstanding, 4 - I liked this and will re-read it, 3 - I enjoyed it though may not re-read, 2 - I kept going because I had to see how it ended, 1 - Whatever time I spent with this book is time I'll never get back to my regret.
Tomas' mother seemed like a real person to me. That is, I can picture my mother buying things that she thought the other person would like, even when they told her No. I could imagine the saint candle that Tomas' mother left burning in the kitchen.
This was a pleasant addition to the Halcyon Center family. I look forward to Doun's book. I'd like to see Sally again, the woman who made sure that every child had a Christmas present.
To me, Heidi Cullinan books are comfort reads. There will be troubles, but I know they will get resolved. There isn't too much angst. There may be some haters in the book, but the supportive people are more prevalent and more important.
I look forward to the next Cullinan treat.
____________________________
My rating - 5 outstanding, 4 - I liked this and will re-read it, 3 - I enjoyed it though may not re-read, 2 - I kept going because I had to see how it ended, 1 - Whatever time I spent with this book is time I'll never get back to my regret.
kaje_harper's review against another edition
4.0
Heidi Cullinan is an auto-buy author for me. Her characters resonate with me, and her writing flows so well. I loved [b:Dance With Me|26153131|Dance With Me (Dancing, #1)|Heidi Cullinan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440366843s/26153131.jpg|16423496], and I'm happy to get this related story.
This book follows Tomás, a young dance instructor (among his three or four jobs) whom we met in book 1. He lives with his immigrant parents, across the hall from kindergarten teacher Spenser. When a 15 year old dance student of Tomás's shows up, after being kicked out of his home for being gay, Spenser's immediate opening of his home to the boy brings him to Tomás's attention.
Tomás is the epitome of the good guy trying to take care of everyone - his parents, his sister's two kids, the dance students. He's the main wage earner for multiple people, and he's working so many jobs that he has really no time to live his own life. But it's not like he can just quit and let them fend for themselves. These are people he loves, so he's trapped. His growing interest in Spenser has to be fit in around a few free minutes here and there.
Spenser is a quiet guy who's been keeping his head down at the Catholic school where he teaches, and spending his free time in solitary pursuits. He never contemplated taking in a foster child, let alone a battered teen. But from the moment Duon shows up bruised and lost, Spenser can do nothing less than his best. The fact that taking care of Duon also means time with Tomás is a confusing bonus, as Spenser's habit of keeping to himself and Tomás's schedule have them dancing around their attraction in a nice, slow burn.
This book has a lot of serious topics in it - the foster care system, LGBTQ teen homelessness, immigration and deportation, child welfare, the MN vote for a constitutional marriage amendment. These are things the author clearly feels very strongly about, and she writes eloquently about the pain and fear and risks of being on the wrong side of a poorly run and underfunded bureaucracy. The Avenues for Homeless Youth that she describes is a great Minnesota organization that I also support. I had a "Vote No" bumper sticker and cheered the results. And the issues of undocumented immigrants, whose lives and families can turn to disaster on a dime, are also important and topical. But it's a lot of intense topics.
The story perhaps suffers a little from the need to get good info about all of these issues into one tale of fiction. There were times when I wanted to get back to the characters in a more mundane way. I also kind of wanted
We only catch glimpses of Ed and Laurie, although it's fun to see them again. Ed's injury and lack of healing do have a moment or two on the page, but the guys are seen from the outside, so we miss the vulnerability and complexity we know they have. The new main characters are great, though. Duon almost steals the show here and there, and Tomás's family are fun to be around. All in all, I enjoyed the read. And if it inspired me to send Avenues another donation, that's not a bad thing either.
This book follows Tomás, a young dance instructor (among his three or four jobs) whom we met in book 1. He lives with his immigrant parents, across the hall from kindergarten teacher Spenser. When a 15 year old dance student of Tomás's shows up, after being kicked out of his home for being gay, Spenser's immediate opening of his home to the boy brings him to Tomás's attention.
Tomás is the epitome of the good guy trying to take care of everyone - his parents, his sister's two kids, the dance students. He's the main wage earner for multiple people, and he's working so many jobs that he has really no time to live his own life. But it's not like he can just quit and let them fend for themselves. These are people he loves, so he's trapped. His growing interest in Spenser has to be fit in around a few free minutes here and there.
Spenser is a quiet guy who's been keeping his head down at the Catholic school where he teaches, and spending his free time in solitary pursuits. He never contemplated taking in a foster child, let alone a battered teen. But from the moment Duon shows up bruised and lost, Spenser can do nothing less than his best. The fact that taking care of Duon also means time with Tomás is a confusing bonus, as Spenser's habit of keeping to himself and Tomás's schedule have them dancing around their attraction in a nice, slow burn.
This book has a lot of serious topics in it - the foster care system, LGBTQ teen homelessness, immigration and deportation, child welfare, the MN vote for a constitutional marriage amendment. These are things the author clearly feels very strongly about, and she writes eloquently about the pain and fear and risks of being on the wrong side of a poorly run and underfunded bureaucracy. The Avenues for Homeless Youth that she describes is a great Minnesota organization that I also support. I had a "Vote No" bumper sticker and cheered the results. And the issues of undocumented immigrants, whose lives and families can turn to disaster on a dime, are also important and topical. But it's a lot of intense topics.
The story perhaps suffers a little from the need to get good info about all of these issues into one tale of fiction. There were times when I wanted to get back to the characters in a more mundane way. I also kind of wanted
Spoiler
a little less positivity at the end, because the wrap felt a little universally sweet, although I appreciated missing some of the potentially stereotypical drama with Spenser's job.We only catch glimpses of Ed and Laurie, although it's fun to see them again. Ed's injury and lack of healing do have a moment or two on the page, but the guys are seen from the outside, so we miss the vulnerability and complexity we know they have. The new main characters are great, though. Duon almost steals the show here and there, and Tomás's family are fun to be around. All in all, I enjoyed the read. And if it inspired me to send Avenues another donation, that's not a bad thing either.
annas_sweets_and_stories's review against another edition
5.0
5+
"You don't just make a safe space, you are one".
The first MC, Spenser is a kindergarten teacher at a private school where he's surrounded by anti gay messages. The second MC, Tomàs, is the son of immigrants who works multiple jobs to keep everyone afloat. One of those jobs is at a dance studio where he meats Duon. Duon is a gay black teenager who ends up at the doorstep of Spenser when he meant to be at the doorstop of his neighbor, Tomàs. Spenser and Tomàs do everything they can to help Duon even while they're only strangers. Enjoy the Dance tackles a lot of heavy topics including homeless youth, foster care, queer teens in those situations, the influence of religion in both shelter and foster care situations, immigrants, the defense of marriage act, abuse, and body image. It's a whirlwind of events but so so good.
I resonated a lot with Spenser and the feeling of never doing enough. Of wanting to change the world but feeling like you're not making a difference. The feeling of needing to help others but feeling limited in resources or experience. In that regard, I'll leave you with this quote:
"You don't have to dance perfectly. You don't have to be perfect, or outlandish. You don't have to ride in on a horse to be a hero. You don't have to stand in the spotlight to be a star. If you save one person, if you shine light for one soul, why is it less than saving two, or three, or four?"
"You don't just make a safe space, you are one".
The first MC, Spenser is a kindergarten teacher at a private school where he's surrounded by anti gay messages. The second MC, Tomàs, is the son of immigrants who works multiple jobs to keep everyone afloat. One of those jobs is at a dance studio where he meats Duon. Duon is a gay black teenager who ends up at the doorstep of Spenser when he meant to be at the doorstop of his neighbor, Tomàs. Spenser and Tomàs do everything they can to help Duon even while they're only strangers. Enjoy the Dance tackles a lot of heavy topics including homeless youth, foster care, queer teens in those situations, the influence of religion in both shelter and foster care situations, immigrants, the defense of marriage act, abuse, and body image. It's a whirlwind of events but so so good.
I resonated a lot with Spenser and the feeling of never doing enough. Of wanting to change the world but feeling like you're not making a difference. The feeling of needing to help others but feeling limited in resources or experience. In that regard, I'll leave you with this quote:
"You don't have to dance perfectly. You don't have to be perfect, or outlandish. You don't have to ride in on a horse to be a hero. You don't have to stand in the spotlight to be a star. If you save one person, if you shine light for one soul, why is it less than saving two, or three, or four?"
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 Stars ~ This was a darn near perfect read for me. With her latest book, Enjoy the Dance, Heidi Cullinan has given us an emotional tour de force. With characters you will immediately fall in love with—as well as many others who you already know—and a setting that is primed to evoke all of your feels, Tomás and Spenser’s story is an absolute win.
The climate is fall of 2012. Minnesota is trying to pass an amendment banning same-sex marriage; it’s a stressful election year; and, the country is waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court on a case that would decide if DOMA will be overturned. As if that’s not enough to be dealing with, Spenser and Tomás are also dealing with immigration laws and the ins and outs of the foster care system. There is a lot going on in this book, but it never feels cumbersome, or like the author was trying to tackle too much. It definitely showed that Cullinan felt like this was a very important book to write, an important story to tell. And in my opinion, she nailed it.
When Spenser comes home one evening to a beat-up teenage boy on his doorstep, it stirs up some unpleasant memories about his past. And, when the neighbor across the hall—who the boy was looking for in the first place—gets involved, things get even more complicated. It’s definitely not all sunshine and rainbows in the beginning for Tomás (said neighbor) and Spenser. They get off to a rocky start when Spenser, who is a kindergarten teacher, explains that he is a mandatory reporter and will have to call DHS. It’s not just any boy, though. It’s Duon, who Tomás knows from the dance studio where he teaches, and Tomás is NOT happy about child services being called in—for a number of reasons.
I adored both Spenser and Tomás. Spenser stole my heart with his mellow sweetness, his love for teaching and kids, and his obvious caretaker nature. It killed me when he finally shared his past and everything he went through in his childhood, but it made complete sense that he wanted to take in Duon, and do whatever it took to keep him out of shelters or other foster homes.
Tomás was my favorite, though. His incredible love for his family, and his selflessness in all the sacrifices he made for them, were both awe-inspiring and heartbreaking. It was this love and his stubborn loyalty to his sister that had him working three jobs so that he could take care of his parents as well as his nieces and nephew. The stress of being overworked as well as his constant fear of his parents being deported are huge weights on his shoulders. Tomás really doesn’t have time for anything outside of his jobs, aside from eating and sleeping, but he still manages to make Duon one of his priorities.
Let me just say really quickly how AMAZING Tomás’s mom is. This woman stole every scene she was in with moments like this:
“Let me care in her place, my sweet boy. Let me feed you and wash your clothes and push the anger out of your heart, so you have room for love to come in. Love of the nice man across the hall who blushes when he sees you.”
So, yeah, we basically have Mrs. Jiminez to thank for Tomás and Spenser getting together, which is completely befitting of her awesomeness. His parents were worthy of every bit of effort everyone in the story put into keeping them in the country. I loved them so much.
Since we’re talking about the Jiminez family, I’ll also quickly mention the only thing in the book that maybe didn’t sit quite right, or feel as realistic as everything else did for the most part, and that was redeeming the sister. Tomás’s sister, Alisa, was horrible throughout the entire book. This is a selfish mother who totally took advantage of her parents’ generosity and all of her brother’s sacrifices, and as far as I could tell never said thank you, and who also said some pretty unforgiveable things to Tomás—at least things I wouldn’t forgive so easily—but then, all of a sudden at the end, she’s all, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry’, and going to rehab. Maybe I’m just feeling protective of Tomás and Spenser, and don’t feel like she should have been that easily redeemed…but, it did seem like it was a little too tidily wrapped up.
Ok—that’s out of the way. Now I can get back to all of the other fantastic things about the book!
Laurie and Ed—our beloved couple from Cullinan’s Dance With Me—have fairly sizable roles here. They are as amazing as ever, and I loved seeing so much of them. One of my favorite scenes was Laurie’s dance presentation in Spenser’s kindergarten class. So memorable and fantastic.
Duon, who we also first met in Dance With Me, is a wonderful character. He shares a passionate love of dance with both Tomás and Laurie, and it’s endearing how quickly he falls for Spenser, and how supportive he is of his relationship with Tomás. He so badly needs a stable family and home life, and recognizes that they can be that for him. Also, this is one fifteen-year-old who tells it like it is…
“Whatever, man. I’m sick of this shit. We gotta worry about nonsense every time we turn around. My social worker. Your sister. Spenser’s job. The stupid government and their rules about who can get married. It’s horseshit. You love Spenser. He loves you. We make a good team…It’s fucked up there’s all this shit in the way.”
I’m suuuch a believer in chosen family, as I’ve said before in reviews, and that theme was huge in this book. I loved this quote—“The family we make is as valid as the family we’re born to. Sometimes it’s a thousand times better.” Spenser’s foster mother, Clara, says this to him, and it’s a lesson that he’s trying to learn and trust in throughout the book.
There are so many other things I loved that I could share about this one, but I’m going to stop here. I want you all to go and read it and experience all of the emotion for yourselves. The last chapter and a half had me with tears in my eyes almost constantly, and the ending is, of course, gorgeous. I have so much love and respect for this story. Kudos to Heidi Cullinan for another amazing book.
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach Reviews
The climate is fall of 2012. Minnesota is trying to pass an amendment banning same-sex marriage; it’s a stressful election year; and, the country is waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court on a case that would decide if DOMA will be overturned. As if that’s not enough to be dealing with, Spenser and Tomás are also dealing with immigration laws and the ins and outs of the foster care system. There is a lot going on in this book, but it never feels cumbersome, or like the author was trying to tackle too much. It definitely showed that Cullinan felt like this was a very important book to write, an important story to tell. And in my opinion, she nailed it.
When Spenser comes home one evening to a beat-up teenage boy on his doorstep, it stirs up some unpleasant memories about his past. And, when the neighbor across the hall—who the boy was looking for in the first place—gets involved, things get even more complicated. It’s definitely not all sunshine and rainbows in the beginning for Tomás (said neighbor) and Spenser. They get off to a rocky start when Spenser, who is a kindergarten teacher, explains that he is a mandatory reporter and will have to call DHS. It’s not just any boy, though. It’s Duon, who Tomás knows from the dance studio where he teaches, and Tomás is NOT happy about child services being called in—for a number of reasons.
I adored both Spenser and Tomás. Spenser stole my heart with his mellow sweetness, his love for teaching and kids, and his obvious caretaker nature. It killed me when he finally shared his past and everything he went through in his childhood, but it made complete sense that he wanted to take in Duon, and do whatever it took to keep him out of shelters or other foster homes.
Tomás was my favorite, though. His incredible love for his family, and his selflessness in all the sacrifices he made for them, were both awe-inspiring and heartbreaking. It was this love and his stubborn loyalty to his sister that had him working three jobs so that he could take care of his parents as well as his nieces and nephew. The stress of being overworked as well as his constant fear of his parents being deported are huge weights on his shoulders. Tomás really doesn’t have time for anything outside of his jobs, aside from eating and sleeping, but he still manages to make Duon one of his priorities.
Let me just say really quickly how AMAZING Tomás’s mom is. This woman stole every scene she was in with moments like this:
“Let me care in her place, my sweet boy. Let me feed you and wash your clothes and push the anger out of your heart, so you have room for love to come in. Love of the nice man across the hall who blushes when he sees you.”
So, yeah, we basically have Mrs. Jiminez to thank for Tomás and Spenser getting together, which is completely befitting of her awesomeness. His parents were worthy of every bit of effort everyone in the story put into keeping them in the country. I loved them so much.
Since we’re talking about the Jiminez family, I’ll also quickly mention the only thing in the book that maybe didn’t sit quite right, or feel as realistic as everything else did for the most part, and that was redeeming the sister. Tomás’s sister, Alisa, was horrible throughout the entire book. This is a selfish mother who totally took advantage of her parents’ generosity and all of her brother’s sacrifices, and as far as I could tell never said thank you, and who also said some pretty unforgiveable things to Tomás—at least things I wouldn’t forgive so easily—but then, all of a sudden at the end, she’s all, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry’, and going to rehab. Maybe I’m just feeling protective of Tomás and Spenser, and don’t feel like she should have been that easily redeemed…but, it did seem like it was a little too tidily wrapped up.
Ok—that’s out of the way. Now I can get back to all of the other fantastic things about the book!
Laurie and Ed—our beloved couple from Cullinan’s Dance With Me—have fairly sizable roles here. They are as amazing as ever, and I loved seeing so much of them. One of my favorite scenes was Laurie’s dance presentation in Spenser’s kindergarten class. So memorable and fantastic.
Duon, who we also first met in Dance With Me, is a wonderful character. He shares a passionate love of dance with both Tomás and Laurie, and it’s endearing how quickly he falls for Spenser, and how supportive he is of his relationship with Tomás. He so badly needs a stable family and home life, and recognizes that they can be that for him. Also, this is one fifteen-year-old who tells it like it is…
“Whatever, man. I’m sick of this shit. We gotta worry about nonsense every time we turn around. My social worker. Your sister. Spenser’s job. The stupid government and their rules about who can get married. It’s horseshit. You love Spenser. He loves you. We make a good team…It’s fucked up there’s all this shit in the way.”
I’m suuuch a believer in chosen family, as I’ve said before in reviews, and that theme was huge in this book. I loved this quote—“The family we make is as valid as the family we’re born to. Sometimes it’s a thousand times better.” Spenser’s foster mother, Clara, says this to him, and it’s a lesson that he’s trying to learn and trust in throughout the book.
There are so many other things I loved that I could share about this one, but I’m going to stop here. I want you all to go and read it and experience all of the emotion for yourselves. The last chapter and a half had me with tears in my eyes almost constantly, and the ending is, of course, gorgeous. I have so much love and respect for this story. Kudos to Heidi Cullinan for another amazing book.
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach Reviews
teenykins's review
4.0
As always in a series I begin with whatever book appears first on my kindle carousel, so I started this series by reading the 2nd one. Will I go back to read Laurie's and Ed's story? FOR SURE! 'Cos I was intrigued to know how they started and that's not something that happens often when I start from the middle.
I didn't mind the political aspect of the book. It was about real world issues that concern us all, even though the book is placed in Minnesota USA. Also it was weaved into the story in such a way that it wasn't like reading the news in a newspaper but how the political decisions of some have actual impact in the lives of many REAL people!!
I loved Tomas and Spenser, I loved seeing their relationship and love, even subdued by everything else going on, beginning, flourishing, withstanding.
Now on we go to Ed and Laurie's book, and I need to read about Marcus.
PS: There's a super hot scene that I had to blast my self with the AC to cool down!!! LOL
I didn't mind the political aspect of the book. It was about real world issues that concern us all, even though the book is placed in Minnesota USA. Also it was weaved into the story in such a way that it wasn't like reading the news in a newspaper but how the political decisions of some have actual impact in the lives of many REAL people!!
I loved Tomas and Spenser, I loved seeing their relationship and love, even subdued by everything else going on, beginning, flourishing, withstanding.
Now on we go to Ed and Laurie's book, and I need to read about Marcus.
PS: There's a super hot scene that I had to blast my self with the AC to cool down!!! LOL