About This Book
Reach for this book when your daughter starts comparing her body to the girls in magazines or struggle with the feeling that her natural curves or athletic build don't fit the traditional mold of beauty. Joyce is a fifteen-year-old girl in a city neighborhood who loves to dance but is told her body is too womanly for classical ballet. It is a deeply honest look at the transition from childhood to womanhood, exploring how self-worth can be found when we stop trying to fit into someone else's box and start celebrating our own rhythm. While it deals with the pressures of urban life and the complexities of first crushes, it is ultimately a story about finding a community that sees you for who you truly are. Parents will appreciate the realistic, grounded approach to body image and the powerful message that there is more than one way to be a dancer and a woman.
