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ifthebook's review against another edition
3.0
Your standard ballet book of girl loves ballet, has some life issues, decides ballet might not be for her. Of note because it's told in verse. I'd really like to see more ballet books that break out of this mold, but sadly this doesn't happen too often.
misscbingley's review against another edition
1.0
I liked the overall message (i.e., you can pursue an activity simply because you enjoy it, not because you're going to turn it into a profession/be famous), but the writing was awkward and stilted, despite the "poetic" format.
akortering22's review
3.0
Clara has always had the dream of being a star dancer. She has worked at it for years but suddenly things go terribly wrong and Clara needs to learn how to do the thing she loves most just for her.
daringreader13's review
3.0
3.5 out of 5 stars
For being written in "verse" it was more just weirdly structured paragraphs, not verse. Also Clare had some very bitchy streaks that I didn't love overall but the general story of coming to love yourself and what you love to do was good
For being written in "verse" it was more just weirdly structured paragraphs, not verse. Also Clare had some very bitchy streaks that I didn't love overall but the general story of coming to love yourself and what you love to do was good
kimberlyhirsh's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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.
icameheretoread's review against another edition
3.0
For the most part, I don't mind novels in verse. This was one of my Teen Book Club's picks for May, and I was glad to read it. I liked Clare and Grandpa. Both go through major life changes and we get to see what happens, but most importantly, we get to hear what Clare thinks about what is happening. And that was where the prose really worked for me. I was confused on a few points (Clare's age, for example). I had pictured her being in her early teens, but a line about "in several years I will be a Spartan like my mother" (which refers to the high school) threw me. Was Clare much younger than I originally pictured her? And yet she travels through town and meets people for coffee? It would explain why she never drove....hmm. Anyway. I thought it was a glimpse (and that's it, a glimpse) into the world of kids preparing to enter a professional ballet company. The only real hint we have of what other characters are thinking is the beginning when each character gets a statement. The mother is a little hard to handle in this story (all the mothers, in fact). I worry that there is not enough about the ballet world that readers do not already know. Yes we know they purge. Yes we know it's competitive. And please, all of my ballet knowledge comes from VC Andrews and The Baby Sitters Club. But what is new is the idea that one should have a back up plan in the great chance that things do not work out the way the dancer wants them too (this would be true for ball players, singers, actors, etc) and that is NOT laid out in the book. So, I am rather disappointed there. Overall, not a bad read, but not THE ballet book readers have been waiting for.
thecalicobooks's review
5.0
I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would! It was written in free verse, so it took a little bit to get used to a book written that way, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading! It was beautiful, hopeful, and inspiring. I loved it!
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