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On Pointe |
Author: Lorie Ann Grover
Published: 2004-05-25 |
List price: $17.99
Our price: $12.23
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Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks
As of: October 11th, 2008 06:14:09 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 On Pointe
This is definitely a book I would recommend to others. On Pointe by Lori Ann Grover is a wonderful and heartwarming book that made me want to read more about Ballet and Pointe because its just so interesting to read about. I could read her books any day. I gave this book a rating of 5 out of 5 because this book was well written and anyone could understand it even if they didn't take ballet or pointe. This book makes me want to put ballet and pointe shoes on even more, makes me want to dance more, and lastly it makes me want to have more passion and pride for ballet and pointe. If I were anyone else I would want to encourage them to read this wonderful and delightful book. This book teaches me only one thing, no matter how tall or small, thin or big, good or bad, that you are, you can still succeed at anything you put your mind to, and to just try and try and to never give up on anything.
 Hated it! - Check out Ballet Friends instead
Yuck! The terrible free verse or whatever style is so hard to read. When I got to the depressing part, I closed it and donated it to my library. Such a downer. Anybody who likes ballet should check out Ballet Friends: Get to the Point! Its so much better, and funny, and a real feel-good book. Who wants to be depressed? Take my advice and buy Ballet Friends instead.
On Pointe
i loved this book It is such easy reading it doesn't even feel like you are reading poems.
On Pointe
Clare has a dream: to dance professionally. In the summer before her senior year in high school, she moves to her grandfather's home to train more seriously and try for the City Ballet:
There are only
sixteen positions
in City Ballet.
Sixteen positions
make the company.
How many in my class?
How many in the conservatory?
How many in western Washington
dream
like me
to be
one
in sixteen?
Clare trains hard and loves to dance. (I especially appreciate Lorie Ann Grover's descriptions of the pain and the beauty of dancing on pointe.) But Clare has a problem--one that escalates while living at her grandfather's--she's becoming too tall. And there's not much she can do about that.
Clare's not alone in her struggles. Her "best friend" in Madame's serious class is Rosella and Rosella has been throwing up to maintain her weight. Dia has grown too big and needs "a big bra" and her hips "are huge." But with the stakes as high as they are no one does much talking. When Dia is called in for "the talk" with Madame, for example, Dia disappears without a word. And no one mentions her absence.
Add to Clare's stress her mother's constant mention of "our dream" when they talk on the phone. (Note to moms: don't do this!) Oh, and grandfather--a wonderful, kind, prune juice drinking man six days of the week--becomes a little passive aggressive on the whole Sunday church-going issue.
In writing "On Pointe" as a novel in verse, Grover has chosen wisely from an aesthetic point of view. Clare's personality--straightforward, hardworking, serious--comes through in Grover's spare free verse. "On Pointe" is for anyone who has ever thought, "Even though I'm trying hard,/failure/could be/my future."
"On Pointe" is highly recommended for children as young as ten and as old as eighteen. I'd also recommend this book to the moms of the world (even the most well-meaning of us can make some big mistakes).
 Where the fun is
Clare is a dancer. She wants to join the City Ballet, but she's taller than most professional dancers. Can she make it? If she can't, what will she do? On Pointe examines what happens when our dreams change. Clare begins the summer auditioning for the City Ballet, living with her grandfather, and chatting with her friend Rosella, who says negative things about their peers that make Clare uncomfortable. By the end of summer, Clare's perspective and priorities have undergone a dramatic shift.
Lorie Ann Grover's verse beautifully conveys the work, pain, and pride that come with being a dancer, as well as the self-consciousness and alienation we feel as our bodies change us from children to adults. Clare learns that our passions don't have to be our professions. This is a valuable lesson for anyone, but it is especially valuable for readers who are passionate about one art or another.
I would recommend On Pointe to fans of dance, poetry, or readers struggling to define themselves.
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