Author: Jennifer Longo
Series: -
Genres: YA, Contemporary
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Source: eGalley ARC
Pages: 352
Publication: January 19th, 2016
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SYNOPSIS: A refreshingly original contemporary YA, unlike anything readers have seen before. Perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson, John Corey Whaley, and Libba Bray.
She had a plan. It went south.
Harper is a dancer. She and her best friend, Kate, have one goal: becoming professional ballerinas. And Harper won’t let anything—or anyone—get in the way of The Plan, not even the boy she and Kate are both drawn to.
Harper is a Scott. She’s related to Robert Falcon Scott, the explorer who died racing to the South Pole. So when Harper’s life takes an unexpected turn, she finagles (read: lies) her way to the icy dark of McMurdo Station . . . in Antarctica. Extreme, but somehow fitting—apparently she has always been in the dark, dancing on ice this whole time. And no one warned her. Not her family, not her best friend, not even the boy who has somehow found a way into her heart.
I read a review of this book on one of your blogs (I can't remember which now...) and I had to request it on NetGalley myself because c'mon, dance ♥
It's not that much about dance but about someone who had her life planned to detail and then everything crumbles, nothing goes as planned... what's next? Plan B and re-thinking life.
It's not that much about dance but about someone who had her life planned to detail and then everything crumbles, nothing goes as planned... what's next? Plan B and re-thinking life.
THE WORLD: Our messy world. We move POVs from San Francisco (USA) to McMurdo Station (Antartica).
CHARACTERS: The main character is Harper Scott, a 17 year old ballerina descendant from Robert Falcon Scott (who tried to conquer the South Pole but lost to Amundsen). She and her bestfriend Kate have planned their ballerina futures together, they will audition for San Francisco Ballet and get in, they will share an apartment, eventually be prima ballerinas, etc. As it happens most times... The Plan doesn't work out and Harper is left in a depressive state, trying to put herself and her life together with the help of a very cute guy called Owen who was Kate's love interest at first but he liked Harper, uh drama. In one of her crazy episodes Harper decides to apply for a scholarship to go to the South Pole just as her ancestor did! And there she went. Once she arrives we get to know Charlotte, her supervisor, Vivian, another grumpy teenager, and Aiden, the cute irish boy who also takes chances with Harper.
LOVE: There is some teenage love drama but luckily is not that much of a focus although sometimes still annoying.
LOVE: There is some teenage love drama but luckily is not that much of a focus although sometimes still annoying.
PLUS: I really liked all the dance descriptions because you can tell the author was a former ballerina, she knows what she's writing about. I also liked reading about Harper's emotional journey because I believe almost every student has felt that way, lost with no path, no career ahead... so it was a fascinating journey!
MINUS: There was a little part while Harper's in Antartica that I didn't like, it was quite boring and slowed my reading path... I know Harper was struggling but it was just too much struggling. I don't like whiners.
OVERALL: 4 stars. I think it is a really good novel and quite different from all YA books this year. I read it while reading the other contemporary book Everything, Everything and gosh, they were both so cute. Cute is the word.
MINUS: There was a little part while Harper's in Antartica that I didn't like, it was quite boring and slowed my reading path... I know Harper was struggling but it was just too much struggling. I don't like whiners.
OVERALL: 4 stars. I think it is a really good novel and quite different from all YA books this year. I read it while reading the other contemporary book Everything, Everything and gosh, they were both so cute. Cute is the word.
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