A Dance of Sisters

Publishers Weekly

PW's starred review called this "an absorbing and eye-opening novel about two motherless sisters. Porter, who has first-hand experience with the rigors of ballet, candidly exposes the nightmarish elements behind a girl's dream of becoming a classical dancer." Ages 8-12. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

VOYA

This well-written book can be enjoyed by many young adults. It portrays the risks and joys of ballet quite realistically. The characters are believable, and their reactions to events are human. It conveys a strong message that there is a path in life for everyone, but it might take time to find that path. Everyone can enjoy this book, but dancers can especially relate. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M J (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2002, Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, 288p,
— Kristen Moreland, Teen Reviewer

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-Delia, 12, and her older sister, Pearl, struggle with adolescence and the loss of their mother in very different ways. Delia attends a prestigious ballet school headed by a former prima ballerina, and the focus of the story is on her. Pearl, who is into witchcraft, is on her way to getting kicked out of yet another prep school. And their father is still grieving the loss some 10 years later. As the competition at the academy gets tougher and tougher, Delia realizes that it is time to make important decisions about her future. Porter's best passages are about the ballet school and its dancers and she does a credible job of revealing the underbelly of the serious ballet student's world. The text is weak in the passages unrelated to dance and may fail to hold readers' attention. The author's handling of the theme of losing a parent is undeveloped and, ultimately, a distraction. In addition, the relationship between the two sisters is neither compelling nor fully fleshed out, and readers never get the sense of their loss or loneliness.-Elaine Baran Black, Gwinnett County Public Library, Lawrenceville, GA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In this story of family dysfunction, two sisters attempt in very different fashions to cope with the death of their mother. Pearl, who is older, practices white magic, paints her face white, and wears cut-up black dresses. Delia devotes her body and soul to ballet after enrolling in a Washington school run by a Russian émigré teacher. Their father sends Pearl to a private school where she is assigned the task of training a difficult horse. By the end of the story, she has found happiness and a career--horse trainer. Delia follows a more difficult path. She loves to dance but finds herself in the back row of the corps when a famous former dancer stages a ballet choreographed by a famous Mr. P. (Balletos will perhaps find hints of George Balanchine and his seminal American masterpiece, Serenade.) Madame, who runs the ballet school, tells Delia that she is too fat and too ordinary to attain the status of prima ballerina. At the same time, fortunately, Delia finds meaning and purpose in studying the ghost dances of the late-19th-century Plains Indians and Brazilian dance. The issues of teen rebellion, anorexia, and family communication are treated too glibly while the constant stream of ballet terminology could confuse even an aspiring dancer. The references to New York companies and schools are out of date and too esoteric for most readers, though budding Delias will probably not mind. (Fiction. 12-14)