On Pointe

Our feet slip

into satin shoes

with stiff shanks,

hard boxing,

tight elastic,

and slippery ribbons

that wrap and end

in hard knots.

The frayed edges

are crammed

out of sight.

We stand.

A row of bound feet

rises

to its toes.

For as long as she can remember, Clare and her family have had a dream: Someday Clare will be a dancer in City Ballet Company. For ten long years Clare has been taking ballet lessons, watching what she eats, giving up friends and a social life, and practicing until her feet bleed — all for the sake of that dream. And now, with the audition for City Ballet Company right around the corner, the dream feels so close.

But what if the dream doesn't come true? The competition for the sixteen spots in the company is fierce, and many won't make it. Talent, dedication, body shape, size — everything will influence the outcome. Clare's grandfather says she is already a great dancer, but does she really have what it takes to make it into the company? And if not, then what?

Told through passionate and affecting poems in Clare's own voice, On Pointe soars with emotion as it explores what it means to reach for a dream — and the way that dreams can change as quickly and suddenly as do our lives.

"Grover (Loose Threads) brings an air of authenticity to this well-wrought free-verse novel about a girl's passion for ballet. Clare has studied for 10 grueling years; now she is spending the summer at her grandfather's, to be closer to her all-consuming classes at Ballet Conservatory, in western Washington. Pressure mounts as she and the other students anticipate the imminent auditions for City Ballet, which has just 16 openings. Grover, who in her teens was a member of the Miami Ballet Company, expertly captures the mood of the students as they privately obsess about their abilities and bodies, always competing. Clare sweats out a difficult move: ' 'Good extension, Willow,'/ Madame croons./ My leg shakes violently/ while I stare/ at Willow's short, still leg/ poised at shoulder height.' Some will do anything to keep their weight down, and almost everyone shuns Dia, whose unexpectedly voluptuous development eventually costs her all her aspirations. Clare, taller by at least four inches than all the other girls, tries to make up for her height with extra effort, but will her hard work be enough? While spelling out the physical toll of pain, bloodied feet and cramping muscles, Grover more subtly communicates the depth of the characters' ardor. She casts a knowing eye on Clare's family, especially on the mother who talks about 'our' dream. While the tensions resolve in familiar ways, the limber verse will keep the audience engrossed. Ages 8-12. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Told through passionate and affecting poems in the voice of a young ballet dancer, this novel soars with emotion as it explores what it means to reach a dream--and the way that dreams can change as quickly and suddenly as lives do.