A review by kaelaceleste
The Turning Pointe by Vanessa L. Torres

4.0

Overall this was pretty nice. This book centers around Rosa, a teenage ballet dancer in 1980s Minneapolis who wants nothing more than to leave the ballet world and go her own path. I loved the diversity in this book and the cool teenage drag scene and exploration of queer issues. The ballet descriptions were also great, I liked that the author didn't shy away from using the names of steps or other terminology. The 80s setting isn't typically my favorite but the descriptions of places and things were so vivid that it was easy to get into.

My main issue with this was that it felt like we were trying to fit too much into one book. There's a LOT covered in here, and I wish some of them could have been explored more rather than trying to fit in so many different issues. It was heavy at times, and sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. I also was a little over the Prince obsession by the end, though I know that's probably an unpopular opinion. But I think there's a lot of good in here. I loved the final performance and the merging of ballet with different dance styles and means of self-expression.

Overall not my favorite ballet book ever but I think it was mostly pretty lovely and will definitely resonate with the right audience. I'll say 3.5.