A Review of '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 Pearl is withdrawn and angry and obsessed with witchcraft. Delia vows not to give her father anything else to worry about. The only time Delia feels important and alive is when she is dancing for Madame Elanova, a world-famous ballet instructor who calls Delia "destined." Delia relishes the hard work required to be a ballet dancer, but she doesn't see the toll it is taking on her life. As competition for Madame's approval takes over, Delia's weight drastically drops, her schoolwork suffers, and she pulls away from her friends and family. Only then does she begin to understand how fiercely her sister had to fight to find her own truth. A Dance of Sisters is an intimate portrait of the rigorous world of ballet, and a story of two girls searching for connection. Tracey Porter's beautiful novel explores the many dances of life, and the bond between sisters that sometimes only experience can reveal.”

This is one of those books that I have checked out of the library multiple times and have read several times over. If I owned this book, it would be dog-eared and wrinkled with love.

I read this when I was… I would guess twelve or thirteen. Maybe fourteen, but that seems like a high guess. At that time, I had an infatuation with books about dancing or that included dancing. I liked them because I myself can’t dance, no matter how many times I get that in my head.

I found that I could relate to this in that I am close to my own sister.

One thing that I was incredulous about every time I read this book was how crazy and ridiculous the requests of Delia’s new ballet instructor, Madame Elanova, asks of her. Delia is like the blind servant of this woman. Madame tells her that she needs to lose weight. The entire time I’m thinking, “Come on! She’s pretty athletic, why would she need to lose weight?” But Delia does it any way.

This is a touching story about two sisters and their experiences in life both together and away from each other.

I give this book:

Thanks for reading!

--Jude