This is the latest in a bold new crop of gutsy, messy debuts, including Carrie Mesrobian’s Sex & Violence (2013) and Stephanie Kuehn’s Charm & Strange (2013). The central moral dilemma-should she risk damaging her ballet career by coming clean about her relationship with Chris at his trial?-is an effective one, though the book’s meat and potatoes is Theo’s struggle with love, lust, and loyalty. Theo’s love for Chris had seemed real, just as it does now for pot-smoking pianist Hosea. He’s a pedophile, though that word doesn’t appear until late in the novel. Shes passionate and desperate to succeed. Theo is one of the most believable YA heroines I have ever read about. It is revealed that Donovan had been abducted by a man twice his age-Chris, who’d had an intense sexual relationship with Theo when she was 13. Pointe is a book about ballet and sexual abuse, but in some ways, its really a book about finding yourself, no matter what youve been through. But that goal dovetails with a surprise: the return of former best friend Donovan, who disappeared four years ago. Theo, 17, is heading toward the Summer Intensive auditions that should fast-track her ballet career. Colbert’s strong debut believably portrays self-delusion through a first-person voice-readers will see the protagonist’s every mistake but also understand why she made them. Brandy Colbert is the critically acclaimed author of the novels Pointe, Finding Yvonne, and Stonewall Award winner Little & Lion.Her newest novel, The Revolution of Birdie Randolph, is forthcoming this August.Her middle grade debut, The Only Black Girls in Town, is forthcoming in 2020.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |