Summary:
Marina is a teenager dancing in the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. She is the daughter of Sveta, Bolshoi's prima ballerina. Both Sveta and Marina have "spells" that allow them to see things. This leads Sveta to be obsessed with sharing this state secret. Then, she suddenly disappears. Marina and her father escape Moscow to Brooklyn, New York and Marina has to begin her life anew. Marina's ballet helps her begin to assimilate to America, but it is very difficult. It makes it more difficult when Marina "sees" her father's murder, she has to figure out how to stop that. Is there anyone that she can trust? How will she survive in this new place with the ever ready threat of Russia following her through the gritty New York streets?
My thoughts:
This novel wrapped up some of my favorite things. First, I love a good mystery. While I often had a good idea what was going on, especially since some of the actions are projected a few chapters before, there were some surprises within the novel. The race to figure out how to stop her father's murder keeps the book moving quickly. There weren't a lot of chapters that I finished and felt like I could take a deep breath and place the book down for a day or two. Most of the chapters flew by and led you from one thing to the next.
Secondly, I was in ballet for eighteen years. It was what drew me to the book, and I wasn't disappointed. I wanted to linger through every dance description. I've even gone back and reread some of the passages. I can picture things within my mind and remember the relationships built within classes. While Marina worries that her dance partner cannot be trusted, I was pleased that he played a good role within her life. It was realistic to me and made me smile. I almost wanted to spend more time with Sveta and her dance performances than with Marina and her life outside of the dance classroom.
The only issue that I had with this book is the dialogue. The way that characters spoke was odd. They spoke in broken English, even if they were supposed to be from America. Marina goes from perfect English to an odd mixture of cliches and language learning skills. While I don't mind slang in most books, this just didn't flow right. In NCIS when Ziva messes up a cliche, it's silly. In this book, it's just awkward.
Marina is a teenager dancing in the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. She is the daughter of Sveta, Bolshoi's prima ballerina. Both Sveta and Marina have "spells" that allow them to see things. This leads Sveta to be obsessed with sharing this state secret. Then, she suddenly disappears. Marina and her father escape Moscow to Brooklyn, New York and Marina has to begin her life anew. Marina's ballet helps her begin to assimilate to America, but it is very difficult. It makes it more difficult when Marina "sees" her father's murder, she has to figure out how to stop that. Is there anyone that she can trust? How will she survive in this new place with the ever ready threat of Russia following her through the gritty New York streets?
My thoughts:
This novel wrapped up some of my favorite things. First, I love a good mystery. While I often had a good idea what was going on, especially since some of the actions are projected a few chapters before, there were some surprises within the novel. The race to figure out how to stop her father's murder keeps the book moving quickly. There weren't a lot of chapters that I finished and felt like I could take a deep breath and place the book down for a day or two. Most of the chapters flew by and led you from one thing to the next.
Secondly, I was in ballet for eighteen years. It was what drew me to the book, and I wasn't disappointed. I wanted to linger through every dance description. I've even gone back and reread some of the passages. I can picture things within my mind and remember the relationships built within classes. While Marina worries that her dance partner cannot be trusted, I was pleased that he played a good role within her life. It was realistic to me and made me smile. I almost wanted to spend more time with Sveta and her dance performances than with Marina and her life outside of the dance classroom.
The only issue that I had with this book is the dialogue. The way that characters spoke was odd. They spoke in broken English, even if they were supposed to be from America. Marina goes from perfect English to an odd mixture of cliches and language learning skills. While I don't mind slang in most books, this just didn't flow right. In NCIS when Ziva messes up a cliche, it's silly. In this book, it's just awkward.
