LitPick Review
Vanessa Adler knows that dancing runs in her family, but she isn't so sure that she belongs at the prestigious New York Ballet Academy. She didn't go to NYBA to dance--instead, she went in hopes of finding her older sister, Margaret, who mysteriously disappeared from the Academy three years ago. But Vanessa should have known that there's more to NYBA than meets the eye. She should have known that the two boys so eagerly willing to help her each had their own motives. Because Vanessa is about to get trapped in a sinister spiral of secrets...and at the center of it all is the deadly Dance of Shadows.
Opinion:
Dance of Shadows was a book with a premise that immediately intrigued me from the start. It's not often that you see a book about ballet for young adults, and Dance of Shadows incorporates it so well into the plot. You can really tell that the author's really passionate about ballet, and readers may even learn a few new ballet terms. NYBA was a perfect setting, providing an ominous backdrop for the action to take place, and believe me, there is a ton of action here. The secrets spread throughout the book are a wonderful way to fuel the suspense and plot, and some truly shocking twists will keep readers on their toes. The characters are each carefully drawn out, and Vanessa is a heroine that readers will be cheering for. I especially loved the fact that many characters are not what they first appeared to be. The book overall was very well-written and the ending wraps things up just enough. Yelena Black has written a book that's sure to satisfy readers while leaving them hungry for more.
