Hello, Booklovers!
Since many of you are looking for good reads at this time I'm also trying to highlight some of my past reads on here.
Did I buy this book because the pre-order campaign had the cutest art? Yes, I did! I knew I was in the mood to read a cute black romance but last summer this campaign made me decide I needed to own a copy.
This is a story about a black ballerina named Chloe who is facing her fears of driving out of state to go audition for a ballet conservatory. Ever since her father passed away in an accident Chloe's mother has been afraid of losing her and keeps her very sheltered. But Chloe has never wanted anything more than she's wanted this opportunity to dance. So while her mother is heading on a cruise she's planning to sneak away to the audition. But Chloe's neighbor Eli catches her and decides to tag along. She ends up missing the audition and has to go to the next one which is further away from home in DC and thus begins their little adventure.
I've been fascinated with black ballerinas in recent years despite my own turn as a black ballerina being a flop. I've just never been a great dancer and as a child memorizing all those moves wasn't for me. I liked that it touched on how white the ballet world is without giving a heavy handed lesson. Though dancing is a big part of Chloe's world it's not the main focus of the story.
And Chloe and Eli's relationship is such a sweet portrayal of black teens that we don't often see. I tried to count last year how many black romance novels I heard about in YA and could only name two. Often in media there's this idea of black boys vs black girls that's portrayed. Sometimes there's a subtle narrative pushed towards interracial relationships as if black people don't mostly date each other. So it was nice to see a healthy black love relationship that teens can gush over. These are two normal high schoolers who are thinking about their futures and navigating their relationships with their families and friends.
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