Raise your hand if you took ballet as a young child. Keep your hand raised if you were any good at it. Now keep your hand raised if you continued to pursue ballet into adulthood. Nope. No hands? Now raise your hand again if you admire the strength and dedication of ballerinas. Wow, so many hands now, right?!
Today I’m sharing my review of Misty Copeland’s novel Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.
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Review & Thoughts
Life in Motion by Misty Copeland
Although I took ballet as a young girl, I wasn’t very talented [perhaps it had to do with spending too much time dancing around the house getting dressed, ironic, right?] but I grew up loving dance movies like Center Stage and Step Up. I’ve always loved the grace of dancers and admired the dedication it takes to build the strength and discipline to become great. I saw this book pop up and knew it would be interesting to read about Misty’s life.
Life in Motion allows you to get a deeper look at Misty Copeland’s life and the path she took that brought her to where she is today. Misty’s life was filled with so much difficulty and set backs and her journey to her career as a ballerina was barrier breaking and incredibly inspirational. Reading about how she overcame adversity and pushed beyond her set backs is an important reminder that if someone that has experienced so much hardship can succeed, you can push yourself to achieve your goals and dreams too. Another important theme of the book is how vital it is to have a support system and people in your life that believe in you and help push you to achieve your dreams.
In a Nutshell: Barrier breaking and incredibly inspirational.
My Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
Details From the Book Jacket
Published: December 6, 2016 by Aladdin
Book Blurb:
Determination meets dance in this middle grade adaptation of the New York Times bestselling memoir by the first African-American principal dancer in American Ballet Theatre history, Misty Copeland.
As the first African-American principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland has been breaking down all kinds of barriers in the world of dance. But when she first started dancing—at the late age of thirteen—no one would have guessed the shy, underprivileged girl would one day make history in her field.
Her road to excellence was not easy—a chaotic home life, with several siblings and a single mother, was a stark contrast to the control and comfort she found on stage. And when her home life and incredible dance promise begin to clash, Misty had to learn to stand up for herself and navigate a complex relationship with her mother, while pursuing her ballet dreams.
Life in Motion is a story for all the kids who dare to be different, dream bigger, and want to break stereotypes in whatever they do.
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Books by Misty Copeland
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