A review by chicafrom3
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil are three orphans who grow up together in a home full of love and financial insecurity; they vow to put their self-chosen name of Fossil into history books by making a mark on the world and also help their adored guardian Sylvia stay financially afloat until her great-uncle (the guy who adopted the three of them and then peaced out) returns. They end up recruited into a performing arts school, as that's the one avenue available for legal child labor; Pauline discovers she loves acting and has a natural gift for it, Petrova loathes the whole thing and would rather be messing about with cars and planes, and Posy is a ballet prodigy understood by very few. Much self discovery goes on. A classic children's novel from the 30s, it remains an absolutely charming period piece; it has aged but not deteriorated. The three Fossils are distinct and well-drawn characters who are neither perfect saints nor obnoxious monsters, walking a much more reasonable line of sometimes being selfless and wanting only what's best for others vs sometimes throwing irrational tantrums because you can't have the thing you want right now (oh Pauline's mini-arc during Alice In Wonderland, it's a delight), and each of the adults is given their own motivation and foibles; Sylvia's steadily increasing anxiety about money could easily be two-dimensional but it's balanced by her love for her family and her desire to give the kids the best possible childhood; every time she refuses to take money they've earned it insists on them buying themselves a treat, it's a lovely moment. I have a lot of nostalgic love for this novel. I'm delighted to find it's still earned.