ISBN #: 978-1462018710
Page Count: 236
Copyright: July 7, 2011
Publisher: iUniverse Publishing
Book Summary:
(Taken from Amazon)
Mandy's Review:
If I were a middle-school-aged child, I would have fallen in love with this book immediately. It has a sense of tragedy to it that ends in triumph and self-empowerment, which would inspire any little girl reading this story. Since I am an adult reading a middle-grade novel, my review is going to be somewhat different.
First of all, Jenny's paralyzing anxiety is a little much. Granted there are genetically-transferred anxieties passed from parents to children. However ... Jenny's anxiety was a little over-the-top for my taste. And the fact that the adults somewhat coddled her by allowing her to stay in the class seemed a bit far-fetched. Although, if I had Jenny's mother, perhaps I'd be a little like Jenny. Her mother is extremely negative and unsupportive. It grated on my nerves to see how she talked to Jenny.
I loved Ara, Jenny's friend. She was free-spirited and wonderful. She did a wonderful job helping Jenny to try and get over her anxiety. There were a couple times that she made Jenny mad by going a little too far with her "help," but I thought she did the right thing.
As an adult, I had a couple issues with scenes in this book. I thought Jenny's actions were a little extreme and her mother too negative. I thought the ballet teachers a little too accommodating. When I allow my younger inner-self to take over, I found this book to be exciting and imaginative. I don't remember the last time a novel had my two selves arguing with each other. As long as you allow your younger self to have control, Dancing on the Inside is well worth the time to read.
*An ecopy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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