Pirouette

December 2, 2013
Hannah loves ballet, and Simone wishes she could quit. After they meet at an Australian dance camp and discover they look and sound identical (they quickly figure out that were both adopted from the same Brazilian orphanage in 1997), they decide to swap livesâHannah so she can dance like she's always dreamed, and Simone so she can have the break from ballet she craves. Australian author Bavati's (Dancing in the Dark) novel speaks both to young dancers who can relate to Hannah's sheer joy for ballet and her endless energy to practice and perform, as well as to those who will understand Simone's jaded attitude, due to her professional training and the accompanying pressure. Even readers less personally invested in dance can appreciate Bavati's treatment of newly discovered sisterhood and the twins' Parent Trapâlike scheme. The author takes several potent fantasiesâto dance professionally, to have a new sibling, and to swap lives with someone else for a whileâand plays up the tension all three create through the escalating complications in her protagonists' lives. Ages 12âup.

October 15, 2013
The Parent Trap goes to the ballet. A worker in a Brazilian orphanage gives identical twin babies, slated to be adopted by different parents in different parts of the world, a chance to meet again by ensuring they both end up placed with families in Melbourne, Australia. Fifteen years later, summer dance camp roommates Simone Stark and Hannah Segal immediately notice their striking physical similarities and conclude (with the help of a quick DNA test) that they are identical twins separated at birth. Their similarities end with their appearance, however. Shy, studious Simone would love to give up her spot at an elite dance school, but her rigid single mother won't ever listen. Outgoing Hannah wishes she could turn her extracurricular dance into a career, but her book-publishing parents want her to take academics more seriously. After successfully switching identities at camp, the teens prepare each other for trading families. The ups and downs of juggling new friends, boyfriends and parents are predictable yet satisfying. Catholic Simone's struggles with navigating a Hebrew school and Hannah's fears of getting kicked out of dance school for lack of talent create a light tension, while text messages from an unknown sender who threatens to reveal their secret add a hint of mystery. Just like the Disney film, there's clean fun as sisters bond and romance builds. (Fiction. 12 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Simone Stark and Hannah Segal, both 15, meet one another at Candance summer camp. They look identical and discover that they are twins who were separated at birth. Simone grew up in a single-parent family and, although a beautiful dancer, she is not interested in dancing as a career. Hannah, on the other hand, grew up in a traditional family and wants nothing more than to be a dancer if only her family would agree. They come up with the perfect plan; Hannah will take Simone's place in class while Simone takes a break from dancing. Since no one knows the girls are twins, they are able to pull off their plan fairly easily. Neither girl is looking forward to returning home, so they agree to swap places when they go back to Melbourne. Hannah lives with Simone's mom and goes to a premier dance school while Simone lives with Hannah's family and attends a regular high school. The ploy falls apart when the teens' boyfriends think they are being two-timed, but everything works out in the end. An enjoyable story with believable characters.-Jesten Ray, Seattle Public Library, WA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
Grades 7-10 If The Parent Trap were set at a dance school, you'd have this story. The prologue sets the scene: twin girls in a Brazilian orphanage are to be adopted by different families, one in Melbourne, and one in Texas. A nurse switches the Texas baby for another headed to Australia; flash-forward 15 years, and the two are attending the same summer dance program, where they meet. Simone, daughter of a pushy single mom, is a natural dancerbut she doesn't like performing. Hannah is less technically skilled but her exuberant personality shines on stage. The old twin switcheroo comes into play as Hannah attends Simone's advanced classes, and Simone takes a much-needed vacation. After the summer program ends, they keep up the charade, with Hannah attending Simone's prestigious dance academy, and Simone off to a more academically rigorous private school. There are love interests, and ultimately, if something's going to foil the plan, it will be boys. While this story is far from unique, and the writing can feel overwrought, the separated-at-birth story and plenty of grand pli's make for a winning combination.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)