Warm Up

by Sara Leach

Jasmine used to love dance. Now she struggles to hold on to that love as her dance team trains for a big competition. Her teammates are bickering, and when their teacher suggests that Jasmine might not have what it takes to be on the team, Jasmine is ready to quit. At a particularly rough practice, she channels her anger into her moves, surprising everyone, including herself, with how well she dances. But the team is still falling apart, and it’s up to Jasmine to figure out a way to get her teammates to work together and celebrate the joy of dance.

Genres: Young Adult

128 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2014

Reviews

[Melanie Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like books that inspires you makes you wanna try new things .well this general fiction book did all of that to me.This is a good book for dancers like myself ***SPOILER ALERT***In the story the dancers start to kinda fall apart they don't know that the dance is really about staying together but as things happen in the middle of the book they realize that they need each other to pull off a win in the finals.

This book takes place in mostly in moondance studio where there girl practice each day.so jasmine wanted her team to win in the finals ,but her team was not working together as they use to.So one day in practice jasmine got the dance teacher of moondance so mad that she walked out of practice leaving the girls to fin for themselves.then as the girls try to work on the dance they realize the message of the dance making everyone a big happy team again.This conflict is person v.s person beacause the whole time the girls had a problem with each other.

I loved how I could connect to this book .first because dancing is not easy and staying a team that works well together is even harder,and I'm glad that by the end of the book they final came together as one .Also I was surprise when the main character jasmine wanted to quite dance .I was surprise because she works so hard to show people like her dance coach ,her friends and family that she can dance ,and when it gets hard she wants to quite I didn't like that because no matter how hard things get you have to push yourself to prove a point to those people that you can do it .

I really liked when will and jasmine was in the drama room and will a boy that went to the same dance studio as jasmine asked if she wanted his help for the dance and during while he was helping her they end up kinda get feeling for one another . I liked this because at first in the book they start off best friends but as the story goes on you kinda get a picture that they really like each other.I didn't agree with the author on how the book ended,because those girls worked really hard and did so much to come only in 2nd place I mean that's good but still if they had got 1st that would had been more exciting for the reader cause while h reading you see they working so hard to win ,to only get 2nd.

I give this book 5 out of 5 because from the beinning of the story I connect with it and I love how I could read something in the book and I think wow I did that ,that happen to me before.I recommend this book to whom every likes to read books that ,inspires you ,makes you want to try new things out .So go to the library or anything and find the book warm up and let the book take your mind to want if u did that,what could you be later you well see if u read this great book from you to me. read the book warm up.

[❤ Aly ❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much even though it was short. It brought me back to when I used to dance and when I used to be on a dance team at my studio.

Jasmine is on a dance team. Her dance team in the beginning of the book is competing to make it to a huge competition. They make it. They have not a lot of time to perfect the dance routine until the huge competition. The team starts to fight and break off into groups against each other. Jasmine is getting frustrated because she keeps getting called out my her teacher and she is also in the back throughout the routine. One class, she channels all the frustration into the routine and her teacher moves her to the front for part of the routine. She is happy that she is finally in the front, but her team is not a team. Can she help them all come together before the big competition?

[Felicia Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a short fun book.

[Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am only a couple pages into this book by Sara Leach, so far I like it a lot and I am very interested in it. I like that this book is a quick read and gets better as you keep reading it. This book is about a girl named Jasmine and how she loved to dance, but Jasmine struggled to keep her love for the sport after her team started to fall apart and had some really rough practices.

[Jessica | Bookish Serendipity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Review copy received from publisher. This in no way affected my opinion or review.

ACTUAL RATING: 3.5 Stars

Jasmine is a dancer whose dance group is struggling to rekindle their love of dance. I liked her enough, but she seemed a tad underdeveloped, just too nice and cheerful. She didn’t stand-out for me. On the other hand, I appreciated many of the other characters like Miss Carina, Jasmine’s dance teacher. At the start, she’s very strict but she learns to loosen up a little by the end. Her character journey is great.

There is a little bit of romance in this novel, between the main character, Jasmine and her guy friend. I don’t usually enjoy love stories, but this romance was very cute! Jasmine’s “boyfriend” is a very quirky and funny character and I liked how their friendship comes before romance. The romance wasn’t the focus in Warm Up, even though I really enjoyed it.


This book is quite short at less than 150 pages, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It is a sweet, feel-good story and sometimes that’s just what we need! This book will probably interest readers 10-12, particularly dancers that will relate to their situation. In my opinion, Warm Up would be great for readers of Karen Krossing and Frances O’Roark Dowell.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jasmine loves dance, or she used to. Now, though, her small group Moondance is focused on nothing but beating their nasty rival at a dance competition, and the Moondance members—including the teacher—are sniping at each other, being disrespectful, jockeying for position, etc. Meanwhile Jasmine, the newest member, is struggling to keep up with all the choreographic changes, as well as coping with her teacher telling her she should try a different kind of dance in the future—she doesn’t have enough emotion for lyrical dance. Can Jasmine get her team to pull things together and enjoy dance once more? (I’m guessing yes. And oh look, I’m right.)

For girls who love dance, this is the perfect book. For the rest of us, not so much. I was bored during the endless descriptions of dance moves I knew nothing about, and that makes up about 70% of the book, if not more. The secondary characters are barely there, even the teacher who comes to see the error of her ways. I did like that Jasmine stood up to the teacher and in the end, it was her positive action that made the difference. It’s also a good message that you should dance for the love of it, not to beat others, but that’s basically the message of this whole series. Overall, another slight book.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jasmine loves to dance, but she is having trouble feeling the emotions of dance. She finds herself counting and trying to remember the steps of the choreography, and he dance instructor notices. Moondance, Jasmine's dance team, has moved on the the finals after receiving third place in the preliminary round, but something is not working for this team anymore. Everyone seems to be mad at each other, and former friends have chosen sides. Negative talk from the dance instructor does not help either. As the team prepares for the finals, Jasmine struggles with whether she wants to quit the dance team. Seeking advice from her grandmother and a young man she has been friends with since the third grade helps Jasmine realize that she is a great dancer and that she can feel the emotions of the dance when she remembers to simply let the feelings come. I enjoyed this short novel, and I appreciated the ending.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teen Jasmine’s love of her dance class has diminished. She wishes dance class could be like it was when she was younger and her passion for dance was unstoppable. These days Jasmine has to drag herself to dance class. As her dance team prepares for their biggest challenge yet, the Star Struck competition in less than a month, Jasmine sees her team turning on each other with anger and jealousy.

Even their dance teacher, Miss Carina, seems out to get them as she constantly criticizes their movements with little praise for their successes. Can Jasmine rekindle her love of dancing and turn her team around in time for the high-stakes competition?

Like other Orca novels, this Limelights novel will appeal most to reluctant readers, especially teens who enjoy some lyrical dancing with their teenage drama. Each book in this series focuses on one performing art, such as music, theater or dance.

[Brynne Ellertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The writer did a great job developing characters so much that it reminded me a lot of my own dance team. I think that every dance team is probably like this at some point. This would be a good book for every dancer to read. It helps you realize that even if your team is falling apart you can eventually become friends again. Even though this book is about a dance team it applies to all types of teams. The team will always perform best when everyone works together. You don’t have to be a dancer to like this book but if you are you will relate to it better. If you are not a dancer and you read this book certain parts might be hard to understand because of the French terminology.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jasmine is not the best dancer in the world, but she enjoys competing with her teammates. When her teammates decide they like to bicker and argue more than they like to dance, Jasmine's teacher decides enough is enough. It is this incident that forces the team to work together and compete as a team. A quick read, this is a story of determination and friendship. The author does not take much time to develop characters and sticks to one main conflict, making it an easier read for students who struggle with reading. Because it is in detail about dance, some of the dance moves are difficult to imagine. Therefore any dance vocabulary may have to be investigated further to understand the team dance moves. Recommended for grades 6 and up.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jasmine's dance team Moondance is ridiculed by rivals InMotion for always coming in last place. Moondance vows to win in the next competition and all is well until Jasmine is asked to dance in the front row . Jealousy and stress begins to divide the girls and they cannot seem to make it work. Young readers who can identify with the problems of acting as part of a team will enjoy Warm Up's fast pace, easy to read format and satisfying ending.

[Nancy L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story that gives the reader insight into the stresses and pressure of competitive dance and what is actually takes to excel. We cheer for Jasmine, watch her gain confidence, find her voice and ultimately grow into herself. Great read!
Nancy Routley

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about what brings a dance company together before a tough competition.

[Melenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice quick read