Girl on Pointe

By: Miriam Landis

Narrated by: Teralyn Davis

An enthralling and complex tale about passion and the arts.

After graduating from an elite New York ballet school, 18-year-old Anna Forester moves across the country to begin her dance career in Los Angeles. Soon, she is drawn into the circle of her charismatic artistic director and the thrilling aura of company life. Her professional trajectory alienates Anna from her college-age peers, but the ballet community is an intoxicating place where she feels desperate to be accepted. Through Anna's eyes, the dance world comes alive in this unflinchingly honest portrait of a young woman in thrall to an uncompromising art form.

©2012, 2023 Miriam Landis (P)2024 Miriam Landis

Critic reviews

“A lesson in the importance of self-knowledge. I recommend it in earnest.” (Emily Kate Long, 4dancers.org)

"Picks up where Girl in Motion left off, transitioning young Anna from student to professional, from girl to woman and everything that entails." (Mercer Island Patch)

An enriching story of an intense ballet career and self-reflection

I highly recommend this 2-book series that presents the first-person perspective of a young girl/woman aged 16 through 20 who is pursuing her dream of becoming a world-class ballerina and maturing as a woman. Anna is a nice girl who has intelligence, talent, determination, and a very strong work ethic.

At the start of this second book, Anna is 18 and is starring her first job in a prestigious ballet company. From the very first minute I was swept away and felt like I was immersed in the highly demanding daily life of a professional ballerina presented in the story is fascinating. Besides that, Anna discovers the joys and disappointments of her career and begins to evaluate whether this life is making her happy. Anna also reads passages from the diary she found of a retired ballerina, which adds another interesting perspective to the story.

The angst level is mild to medium. There is a short reference to mental health problems and an incident of someone breaking a bone. There is no sexual content; just kissing. There is a little bit of cursing, but only in French. The remarkably perfect narration by Teralyn Davis elevates this audiobook to an even higher level of excellent entertainment than the lovely writing. I highly recommend this duology to fans of YA, dance, and coming of age novels.