Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Piruetas

it's always weird giving a rating to someone's life story, and tillie walden's in spinning is no exception.

w/ the summary talking abt figure skating and coming out, i was quite excited to read this, and the end product is by no means bad, but simply different, more melancholic, toned down, and reflective than i thought.

the book offers an insider look into the world of competitive figure skating, w/ the dynamics, unspoken rules, tense and oft toxic environment that nevertheless contains a sense of camaraderie. it's also interesting to see how skating intersects w/ other aspects of walden's life and inner identity. the art, while simple, gets the story across and i like the use of orange in certain important scenes/panels, though w/ a story that contains a lot of physical movement such as this, it can look a lil stiff.

as mentioned in the author's note, this graphic novel examines how walden's life outside of skating affects her sport. my issue - and thus rating - is perhaps said happenings are not too interesting, as the author's life is one of monotony and routine, thus rendering the narrative dull at times, w/ the same things looping repeatedly. this is compounded by the fact that, as the author mentions herself, it's not character-driven but rather compelled by outside forces outside of her control. in short: she doesnt make things happen; things happen to her. and there's no right or wrong way to go abt this, but it happens to not rly benefit the story all the same.

regardless, i recommend this to anyone looking for a slow-paced, reflective coming-of-age read thats centered on sports.

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skyslibrary's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

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alishaaa's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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rachelditty's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

I really enjoyed this! As someone who was a competitive dancer, I could relate to a few different aspects of a sport that takes a lot out of you, especially when you're not sure you even want to do it anymore. The ending really got me; there were a lot of things Walden said that resonated with me. I wish all the best for her, she deserves it.

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syntaxx's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

This was a title that I’m really glad I was able to borrow from the library; I was very excited to read it but doubt I’ll ever revisit it a second time.

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eligru's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

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ruth22's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

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