A Dance of Sisters

by Tracey Porter

I want to stretch to the moon, Delia thought. Far, far away. Twelve-year-old Delia Ferri doesn't remember her mother, or her family the way it used to be. All she knows is that her sister, Pearl, and her father are fighting more and more. Pearl is withdrawn and angry, so Delia vows not to give her father anything else to worry about. Delia loses herself to the rigorous world of ballet, and only when it has consumed her completely does she begin to understand how fiercely her sister had to fight for her own truth. Delia discovers that the bond between two sisters can't be broken -- no matter where the dance of life takes them.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Mental Health, Sisters, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Tracey Porter is the author of Treasures in the Dust and A Dance of Sisters. Her most recent novel, Billy Creekmore, was named to Oprah.com's Kids' Reading List, compiled by the American Library Association. For the past twenty years she has taught middle school at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. She lives with her family in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine it wasn't anything special. I don't think the eating disorder was written well and wasn't taken seriously enough. It also only showed the negative sides of ballet but the story was beautiful I think it could have been longer since the ending felt kind of rushed. I feel like a few things weren't resolved in the end or they were just never addressed. It was good nonetheless.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh my god.... this book is AMAZING! its about a girl who loves ballet and her family is ging through a rough time. she has to find her own way in her life and its so good i was actually moved to cry, which doesnt hapen much to me

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: "3,5 stars"

Delia is 13 and loves ballet, she dreams about becoming a professional dancer and puts a lot of hard work and dedication into it . Ballet is also her refuge and nothing else really matters. There is her overly busy single dad and her older and rebellious sister Pearl. Their mom died when Delia was very young and it is not easy for her family to handle it. The book switches between scenes of her family and the ballet.

I was in the mood for a fast read and this what I got. You could tell that this was a middle grade book which I haven't read in a long time. I liked Delia's enthusiasm for ballet. Of course it also portraits the dark site like all the pressure and unhealthy starving. I also liked how her relationship with her sister slowly developed. Overall solid read.

[‎♡₊˚・₊✧ Sonia ˖ ࣪ ࿐ ♡ ˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ I am very dance deprived right now

[Jane Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I even cried at the last part of the book as it is so touching. It talks about the life of a teenage girl taking ballet and how much she needs to do to become a ballerina. This book have deep meanings in it. I absolutely enjoyed reading this book.

[Mareena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was amazed at this book. Ballet is one of my hobbies, so I could really relate to the need to be thin and beautiful. Although I wouldn't go through such extreme measures to achieve that.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Porter, Tracey A Dance of Sisters. PG. 276: Joanna Cotler Books. Language-PG, Sexual Content-G, Violence-G.

A Dance of Sisters is a story of two sisters and their struggles in life and how they were once close, but now distant from each other. It is very well written and portrays the importance of family.

I love this book so much that I would read it again and will add it to my array of books.

MS, HS - ESSENTIAL, Student Reviewer- MP.
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008/...

[Jen Hossack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fictionalized memoir is better than it seems. Suitable for readers at a 4th or 5th grade level and up, this story based in the dance world really deals with family relationships. The push and pull between Delia and her sister Pearl is enough to keep any reader engaged, regardless of their interest or knowledge in dance. As the sisters and their father learn to cope and give each other grace long after the death of their mother and wife, their family is able to come back together.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it until the end. Then it got weird

[gemmawapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

li posaria 3 estrelles pero com estic contenta d’haver mel llegit perquè es en angles i a mes el tema del ballet m’ha semblat súper guai nhi poso 4.

[Vanessa Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy it much, but there was enough of a story that I finished it.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Delia Ferri does not remember he mother who died when she was young, but what she does know is that her father and sister Pearl are fighting more and more. Pearl, her sister, is still crestfallen over their mother’s death, while their father tries to pretend it never happened. Delia feels bad that she does not remember, and feels like a misfit. Her sister is now involved in witchcraft because she is angry and withdrawing from society.
Meanwhile to deal with all her family issues, Delia finds something she loves. A beautiful form of art-ballet. She feels important and needed when she steps into that studio.

Madame Elanova, a world-famous ballet instructor, also tells Delia she is “destined.” But being “destined” comes with many challenges. She must prove herself every day, and fight for what she wants-even if that means beating her only friend Claire. Another challenge she faces is Madame’s cruel perspective on body images. Madame often tells girls they must lose weight, to become a better dancer. When they lose weight they get complimented by Madame and they feel empowered and great.

Besides facing home troubles, Delia is also facing anorexia because Madame told her to lose some weight. Faced with mirrors every day that watch your every move, she is forced to see how “fat” she looks compared to the other girls. She learns that being anorexic is something to be proud of in the ballet world. Madame rewards the anorexic girls for their hard work and Delia strives to prove to Madame she is perfect. But when will it become too much? Too many demands, and not enough rewards. Is it really worth it, is a question Delia faces throughout the story. Competition soon increases among the girls to prove themselves to Madame.

The desperation to prove herself is taking effects on her life. Delia is failing school, losing weight drastically, and is pulling away from friends and family. Only when she hits rock bottom will she open her eyes to see what is going on.
Her sister is only there for her, proving the essence of family and how important it is. Pearl is wise enough to care for Delia and recognize the enemy before even Delia sees who she cherishes most is her worst enemy. To find out her enemy, you must read the book! Though her sister may not be right next to her, she learns the bonds of sisters cannot be broken by distance.

This is a very realistic story for anyone who is in the dance world. Like Delia, you constantly worry about weight and competition with others. This book I can relate to as a dancer. Each dancer is usually faced with anorexia, just like Delia. But the way Delia deals with it is truly different. At first she denies her anorexia but then she truly sees what the world of ballet has done to her. Now she faces the choice of whether to stay in ballet and be controlled by Madame or break away. Very inspiring and beautifully written with great flow, a must-read for everyone!

"I want to stretch to the moon," Delia thought. "Far, far away."
To find out if she did reach the moon read A Dance of Sisters by Tracey Porter.

Originally posted at: http://www.teenink.com/reviews/book_r...

[Kristin (Kritters Ramblings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little book. It was a find to fulfill one of the categories for my goodreads challenge I am doing for this quarter. It was one of the harder categories - books about dancing.

A story of two sisters trying to find their way through the world with just their father due to their mother passing away. One of the sisters turns to acting out and ends up at a boarding school where she finds training horses as a way to devote her energy and time. The other sister turns to dance, but dance has the opportunity to let her down through a horrible and demanding teacher.
I was a ballet dancer through my growing years. For 13 years, I devoted a lot of my after school life to ballet and other types of dance. I was never destined to be a dancer - too short, bad feet and the list goes on. BUT I had the heart for it and I still like to shake my groove thing every so often!! I have rhythm, grace and confidence - but my body just wasn't built for it. I believe that this little girl had a hard time realizing that sometimes you may have the heart for something, although you will never be able to complete the road.

I loved this book. It was a YA book - so an easy read. I would recommend it to all my friends who love the art of dance and would enjoy the journey of a girl trying to discover where she fits in.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Delia is the "good daughter." She keeps her grades up, focuses on her passion for ballet and generally stays out of trouble. Her sister, Pearl, is troubled. She used to be a good girl, into ballet and studies too. Now she wears all black, paints her face white and has a bad attitude.

When their mother died several years before both girls had a hard time and so did their father. But is that any excuse for Pearl's behavior? Eventually Pearl gets kicked out of her private school and sticking to an earlier agreement Dad begins to look for a suitable boarding school.

Meanwhile, Delia is becoming more and more obsessed with ballet. After being harshly criticized by the revered Russian ballet instructor Delia begins to really focus on what's she's eating. Specifically not eating anything. Granted this book is about the harsh reality of the dancing world, but it's a bit in-your-face.

If this story was told from the true third-person then it would have better. It would have been more powerful if another person was recognizing her changing. Eventually the reader learns that the extremely critical nature of ballet is the reason her sister left dancing.

Also, this book is very much about Delia and very little about her sister Pearl. The title is very misleading...

[Elad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Dance of Sisters is another one of those dance books

Delia doesn't remember how her family used to be,with a sister addicted to witchcraft and always arguing with her father. The only time she feels special is when she is dancing in Elanova School of Dance. But when she starts to push away her friends and schoolwork, along with her weight dropping drastically, Delia understands how hard her sister, Pearl, had to fight to find her own truth.

The only reason I REALLY enjoyed this book was because of the dancing parts. Other than Delia, I felt like a lot of the characters were in an elementary level. Her sister, Pearl had a lot of things that confused me. Also, the whole witchcraft thing wasn't thoroughly explained, so I didn't really understand that whole concept of the book.

However, I really enjoyed the whole part of Delia having problems with her weight. It really showed how many insecurities a dancer has, especially at such a young age, like 13. The only character I liked in the book was Delia.

A good book if you enjoy dancing :)

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

After their mother dies, 12-year-old Delia and her older sister Pearl, go their separate ways in life. Delia submerges herself in ballet…it is the only time she feels important and alive. Pearl is obsessed with witchcraft and her punky dress and hair. As they are apart, lessons in life draw them back together. This was a wonderful introduction into the world of young girls and their dreams to become ballerinas…the competition and sacrifices that must be made in order to become the star. Author Tracey Porter graduated from the Washington School for Ballet and her book provides educational material as well. She introduced many ballet terms. I used the American Ballet Theatre online Ballet Dictionary to look up the terminology. http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It added to my passion for dance. The end was dissapointing, how Delia leaves the world of ballet, though. I would love to have Madame as a teacher, because she could probably train me and my studio really well. I love the poetry of the book, and how it describes the excitement of Nutcracker shows, the jealousy and heartbreak of most of the dancers, and Delia's struggle to overcome the hardships in her life. I also liked how Pearl, Delia's sister, was interested in witchcraft, religions, and mythology. It added a sense of magic and mystery to the book. Of course there were sad bits, about their mother dying, and how the rest of the family deals with her death, but overall one of my favorite books.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book I read for my english lit. circles. It is about 2 sisters, Pearl and Delia Ferri, who love eachother alot, but are complete opposites. Their mom died when they were little. Pearl remembers her very well, but Delia doesnt. Their father tries to block all memories of her from his mind. Pearl is the oldest and dresses completly in black and wear alot of makeup, she is obsessed with magic and stuff like that. Delia is the little sister. She loves ballet more than anything in her life. But when her grades and weight drops darastically, she suffers a great deal...
This is a great book and it was very exiting!!!

[Deepa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a talented ballet dancer named Delia who lives with her rebellious and emo sister and her grieving father. Delia feels her only "escape" is through ballet and only when she completely loses herself to ballet does she realize how competitive and cutthroat the ballet world really is. I would highly recommend this book to any dancer who wants to dance professionally. The book really gives you good insight on how cruel the dance world is and shows you that changing who you are to please others is never the right way to go. It's a compelling and griping story and it's one of my favorites.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because one of my favorite books from childhood was the Sisters Impossible and this book was recommended as one that "if you liked this, try....". It was ok. It lacked the magic of the other YA book about sisters and dance, mostly because the voice of the protagonist did not seem true to her age, but that of an author trying to make it sound like a 12 year old and not being entirely successful. The older sister's character was also somewhat unlikable and unrelatable. Very blah, but kids who love dancing books would probably enjoy parts of it.

[Hana]

This book was pretty good. If you are not a dancer, some terms in the book would be hard to understand. It was actually a pretty depressing book although I did not want to put it down. The main characters are Delia, her dance teacher Madame Elanova, Delia's sister Pearl and their father. Delia is a very serious ballet dancer and ever since the sisters' mother died Pearl has had bad grades and is very interested in weird things like witch craft.

[Cupcakegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

II'm unsure how I felt about this book. I loved all the dancing and how you got to look inside another dancer's life. A girl who really has a passion for dance. I loved the steps and the pointe shoes, as I'm obsessed with pointe shoes and am going on this summer. I did not, however, really like the ending and to be honest, I didn't really finish it, I just skimmed the end. But overall pretty good!!!

[madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm. Accurate and kept me very very intrigued... Because of my background as a dancer, it was difficult to make it through without being stifled by emotion and past memories. I could merely nod at the way Porter wrote about the life of the dancer... classic and accurate. But at the death of ending her career, there was also life. Life in the casual, care-free style that dance was intended to be.

[M Kelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about two sisters who are really different frome each other. As the story goes on they learn alot about themselves and the relationships they have with other people. The main charecter learns that not everyone can be trusted and that you cant allow people to make your choices for you.

[Katti Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was simply amazing. It combines ballet with the relationship of two very differet sisters that become one. Althouhg i read this book nearly 2 years ago i still remember it as being a very good read. I also enjoyed that, as being a ballet dancers myself, it brings the aura of dance to unite these to sisters.

<3 katti lynn

[Michelle Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book about ballet, but if you're reading it for the eating disorder aspect, don't, because there isn't much info on eating disorders in here. Just a few bits and pieces about anorexia. But, it is a good, easy read if you're at all interested in ballet, so give it a shot. I liked it and read it in one day at work.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 1 out of 5]

Again, a situation where the author says she seriously studied ballet for years, but the book is mostly negative on ballet – emphasis on blisters, overly-critical teachers, weight control, etc. Mixed in is an older sister who is very troubled, but finds what she needs at a boarding school working with horses and a father who isolates himself from his daughters. Not recommended.

[Smarticle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horrible!!! An excess amount of minor unsolved conflicts, and the end was just bad. It disgusted me that after going through this whole book it had to end like that. I picked it up because I dance, but this only made me dislike dancing! Liked it at first, the reason for 2 instead of 1, but the moral was giving up is the thing to do! Don't waste your time on this.

[Augy]

In my book the girl is a ballerina, she loves dancing and she at first only wants to do ballet. But after about a year she isn’t so sure about ballet any more. I loved the book I would read it so many more times. I liked that she was so passionate about something. I didn’t like how mean she became over ballet.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I don't really think it is an eating disorder book, more then it is a dance book becuase they focus more on her dance then on her starving herself. But it's still really a good book.