“The Strength of Ballerinas” by Nancy Lorenz Book Review {Giveaway}

All Kendra wants to do is dance for the Manhattan Dance Company. So when her family’s forced to move to California, her dreams of auditioning are shattered. Still determined to dance, Kendra faces social isolation and family pressures in her new home. But when she’s diagnosed with a debilitating illness, Kendra must decide which dreams are worth fighting for.

As you can tell by the name of the girl in the book this book, The Strength of Ballerinas, is about me and my amazing ballet skills.  You never knew huh?  HaHa, you can all laugh out loud now!  I tried once, it was kinda scary, but I was an amazing clogger!!  Anyway, all kidding aside, how could I resist reading a good, clean and wonderfully written book about a girl named Kendra!  I really really enjoyed this book.  It was a lot different than a lot of fictional books I have read.  Usually I am in to historical fiction, but this book was about right now in the life of this girl named Kendra. Kendra is a young teenage girl trying to figure out living in a new area, new friends fitting in and what to do about giving up her dream to dance with the Manhattan Dance Company.  Within a couple months of moving she finds out that she has an illness that might make it so one day she can’t dance.  With a mother that has passed away, a sweet and loving but also challenging autistic brother, and a dad who is trying to get through a job loss and a move, Kendra has to deal with many challenges as a young girl.  Thankfully Kendra finds some great friends that help her get through her trying time and make some pretty big decision in her life.  The book doesn’t sugar coat things.  It keeps it real.  We see a girl that shows courage, frustration, anger, happiness, and love while trying to make important decisions for her life!

I like how the book ended, but would love more.  Hopefully Nancy will write another.  I am kind of that way with most books.  I want to know every detail of the after story that is never written.  This book reminds me of my amazing cousins, who was also a ballerina, who at a young age had cancer in her leg and was told she probably would never be able to dance like she used to.  She had great strength and through it all, she was able to dance all the way through highschool and even taught a little after that!

I totally recommend this book to anyone, but I do think a teenage girl, especially a dancer would love it.

About the author: 

Nancy Lorenz currently teaches as an English adjunct at several colleges. She worked in publishing, public relations and in network television. She studied ballet in New York City at numerous studios, including open level classes at American Ballet Theater in the 1980’s, and continues to study ballet for the sheer love of it. She recommends that you love what you do, but also to branch out to the many subjects out there yet to discover. The more you learn, the more you can bring back into your art.