Breaking Pointe: A Ballet Novel

by Miriam Landis

"The people, the excitement, and the beauty of dancers were the story of my life...."

When eighteen-year-old dancer Anna Linado began her professional ballet career with the prestigious Los Angeles Ballet Theatre, she thought all of her dreams had come true. Company life offered glamorous colleagues, exhilarating performances, and the chance to become a prima ballerina.

Then she finds an older dancer's diary hidden in her theater case, and the contents unravel her preconceptions about life in the company.

Just as Anna reaches the cusp of stardom and the beginning of a promising love affair, the realities of the ballet world will change her life forever.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, New Adult, Sports

Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Miriam Landis is a faculty member at the Pacific Northwest Ballet. She was a LitCamp fellow, and an assistant editor at Simon & Schuster, Hyperion, and the Amazon Books team. A Stanford grad, she was also a student at the School of American Ballet and a professional ballerina with Miami City Ballet. When not writing, teaching, or dancing, she enjoys life on Lake Washington alongside her husband and four children. In addition to Lauren in the Limelight, she is the author of two young adult novels, Girl in Motion and Girl on Pointe (previously published as Breaking Pointe). Learn more at www.miriamlandis.com

Reviews

[Tally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in just two days, and boy, what an emotional ride has that been. It's very different than Girl in Motion, the most obvious difference being that it's written in past tense and includes more dialogues, differences which seem to be rooted in the plot. In Girl in Motion, Anna lives in the enclosure of ballet school, but once she moves into the Los Angeles Ballet Theatre, her world expands and the transition is reflected nicely in this book. Much more going on here; there are more characters (hence the more extensive dialogue) as well as a subplot, a diary Anna finds in her theatre case.

The subplot doesn't really play out until a later point of the plot, and the idea of the diary might be a cliché, but it works. It prevents the story from becoming a monotonous repetition of the story told in the first book and provided a different tone to its sequel. It isn't just Anna telling the story now, but a fellow dancer from a few years back, who provides insights on the company and her fellow dancers. Her diary entries offer a grim portrayal of the politics of the ballet and reveal the uglier side of a supposedly glamorous and romantic world.

Breaking Pointe offers many more twists than Girl in Motion, some predictable such as Elizabeth's pregnancy, and some more shocking, like Ari's death and Teresa's suicide. Overall it's more action-packed than Girl in Motion, giving the reader more room to identify with Anna and her fellow dancers and relate to them. I wish there was more Anna/Hillary interaction included. Even though Hillary does become a larger role later in the story, it seems somewhat pointless to bring her into the sequel, then ignore her through a major part of it.

On the downside, the editing is incredibly sloppy. Whoever proofread this book must be fired. There were plenty of comas missing as well as several grammar mistakes, and two character names from the previous book were different: Anna's idol suddenly had a different last name and one of the teachers' names was different altogether. I'm an editor at heart and these things tend to pop in front of my eyes, but never have I come across such obvious examples. That said, I really enjoyed the author's style, and I hope to read more from her. Both Girl in Motion and Breaking Pointe are ones of the better ballet books I read recently, so it will be nice to read something just as good in the future.

[Tim Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trip behind the curtain

Anyone who is fascinated by the world of ballet yet has absolutely no ability to participate will love this chance to enter the exotic world of a professional ballet company. Seeing the dance from the inside reinforces the admiration for those otherworldly beings who delight us in performance while awakening a sense of appreciation for the emotional and physical price they pay. I will never see a performance in the same way again, yet I'll always marvel at the beauty they convey . It's even more amazing than I thought.

[Jaymee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. A sequel to Girl in Motion, this is where the protagonist has joined a company as a professional, and we follow her story as she grows up in and out of the ballet world. Naturally it's richer in terms of plot and character, but feels more like non-fiction. If this book had an editor (it seems self-published) this could've gotten to a larger market and I would've given this a 4-4.5 rating. There are obvious grammatical errors and typos. Given the hesitance of many to go deep into the many issues that beset the ballet world, I doubt this would've been picked up quickly by a publishing house, hence the decision to self-publish maybe. I gave this a go primarily as a fan of ballet novels.

[Julie Hudzik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the original release of what is now titled Girl on Pointe which is quite different and filtered. This book, the original, has a much different feel. I read the newer book first and several things didn’t quite make sense. After reading the original I can see it’s due to the heavy editing and changes to the re-release.

My opinion- the original is much better but I t’s no longer in print.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked this book and i like reading books about ballet.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just another ballet book, but enjoyable.

[Elena Woontner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh.

[Gabrielle S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this as much as I liked the first book. However it was still good. This is a very honest look at what it is like at the life of a member of a ballet company and there is no sparing the ugly details or the harsh realities. Even more than in the first one I can't help wondering how much is autobiographical.

if you like your ballet books where the heroine ends up as the prima ballerina then this book is not for you

[Kjirstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked seeing the workings of a professional ballet company from a young dancer's perspective. It was nice to see what Anna does after getting into a company, and how her views on dance and her fellow dancers metamorphose over time.

[Rhiannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interestnig story of a girl who joins a dance company, and the ups and downs of her life there.