A review by choosejoytoday
Various Positions by Martha Schabas

3.0

So I read three YA, ballet books within two weeks of each other. Of all, I think this is my least favorite, only because the main focus of the book is not ballet. I would argue that this is a sexual awakening story (to be read with the likes of the classic, Forever by Judy Blume), in which ballet serves as a lens to give a unique perspective. So yes, it serves a purpose that the main character is a ballet student, and yes, the story was a unique story, but I was not prepared to read about a 14-year-old girl's discovery of herself as a sexual being. It felt authentic (though I don't have much to compare it to), and I really liked the choice that Schabas made in not having the ballet teacher complicit in the advances made by Georgia. It would have been too cliche.