About book Dancing In Red Shoes Will Kill You (2005)
Mildly entertaining, but that's about it. The characters were very stereotypical and 2-dimensional, the writing was mediocre and the plot was extremely lacking, probably because it was just a thin disguise for The Moral - one thing I cannot abide in YA fiction. The issues that this novel was trying to deal with (censorship, body image & self-acceptance) were handled very clumsily and without any real depth. The whole mystery with the red shoes and threatening messages was mildly promising, but quickly turned out to be a simple misunderstanding. Boring! I could see what D. Cirrone was trying to do by making Kayla decide NOT to have breast reduction surgery and pursue a different career path instead of following her dreams of becoming a principal dancer. Be yourself! Accept your body the way it is! I get that. But it didn't make sense in the story, because Kayla was a gifted dancer who had always dreamed of dancing professionally and had the talent and determination to do it; she loved dancing more than anything but admitted her breast size made it painful and difficult; her parents were willing and able for her to have the surgery but left the decision up to her. Having breast surgery for vanity or low-self-esteem reasons is one thing, but in those particular circumstances, I would say - have the surgery! Follow your dreams! Don't throw in the towel because of some vague sugar-coated propaganda about your large breasts being 'part of who you are'. This is real life, not Glee.Of course I could just be biased because I too have mama jugs that are the bane of my existence (heavy, painful on the back, difficult to find bras/clothes that fit etc etc) so the whole time I was thinking "Yes, do it! Have them off so that I can live vicariously through you!" and was disappointed when she didn't. It's a shame, really, because a realistic exploration of a teenager having breast reduction surgery would've been a really interesting read.A final gripe: the characters all had stupid names. Gray! Paterson! It's petty, but I felt irritated every time I read them.
The title and the plot of the story drew me to this title. Kayla is a ballerina who feels sometimes inadequate for ballet because of her large breasts. She has a rival who always finds a way to poke fun at her, an artistic and outspoken older sister, a gay best friend who also dances ballet, and a love interest who just moved to her school from New York. The story goes pretty fast, yet it took me 2 weeks to get through the book. I just didn't ever feel like I connected with Kayla. I wanted to, but the story didn't compel me to. It was a pretty light read, with all the loose ends tied up at the end. At first there was a lot made of the rivalry between Kayla and Melissa, but in the end it was never really resolved or addressed. I did like that Kayla did not conform to the pressures of being a flat-chested ballerina, but the story just didn't pull me in.
Do You like book Dancing In Red Shoes Will Kill You (2005)?
A very cute book about a teenager with big bazoombas that interfere with her aspirations to be a ballerina. With allusions to the Andersen fairy tale "The Red Shoes" and the Grimms' "Cinderella" as a springboard to discuss female body issues and social pressures, this is an important book for young girls. With a dash of innocent romance and a sprinkling of mystery, this made for quite a page-turner that I finished in just a few hours. Some of the ballet talk was a little lost on me, but I muddled through.
—Jenna
This book was kind of entertaining, but it didn't take the deeper level of meaning that I would have liked to see, especially because this book was meant to be a topic of discussion. I found the reading to be rather straightforward, without too much development of characters, which was disappointing. I also feel as though the title of the book was misleading. I found the mystery of the red shoes to be a minor problem compared to some of the other issues presented. I think that the book seemed a bit crude at first as well, which made it difficult for me to get into it. I haven't had any experiences in the dance world, so that was another element that I could not relate too. Had the book been more in depth, and had more connections between the elements of the stories been made, it would have been much more well written. This book seemed to be a lighthearted read, which is different from the other books that I have been reading lately, which would account for why I feel it didn't have deep enough meaning.
—Karissa Panzino
Hysterical! While the description seems to focus mainly on the shoes, most of the book focuses on a certain dancer's proportions...And okay, I don't have double Ds, but my proportions are too warped to be a ballet dancer. So a huge part of it actually does focus on how she and others perceive the size of her boobs--something I can relate to. Sad, though, all she wants is to be a B. So, yeah, I wouldn't really recommend this book to a guy, but it was really cute.I really loved the relationship she had with her sister...And Gray was adorable.
—Christine
