Audition

Told through free-verse poetry, Kehoe’s first novel about an aspiring ballerina pairs dancing with coming-of-age themes. When 16-year-old Sara receives a scholarship to study at the Jersey ballet, she moves from her rural childhood home in Vermont to dance with an intense choreographer. While she has natural talent, her technique pales next to the other girls, making her feel like a “backward ballerina.” Even so, she catches the attention of an older dancer/budding choreographer, Remington, and begins a relationship with him, though Rem seems to be in charge of directing their romance. Between Rem, private school demands, and the ballet’s “endless auditions, eternal scrutiny,” Sara feels overwhelmed: “I’ve half forgotten/ Who wants this life I lead/ Or who ever really chose it to begin with.” The author, who has a performing and choreography background, stages Sara’s dance world clearly through her spare verse, from ballet moves and body aches to studio drama. Most of Sara’s problems are predictable, but readers will empathize as she struggles with everything from sore shins to Rem’s fickleness and whether she wants to continue dancing at all. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)