A solid use of character, setting, and culture. The elements combine to create a thought provoking, vivid image of a particular time, place, and life experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Too cheesy to say this story will dance its way into your heart? The Turning Pointe is a lovely debut from Vanessa L. Torres beautifully rooted in history and music that adds to the gripping emotional journey.

'The Turning Pointe' by Vanessa L Torres is an emotional coming of age story set in the heart of Minneapolis during the peak reign of The Purple One, Prince.

Rosa, our main character is at once relatable despite her somewhat unique situation. Daughter of ballet Master Geno who rules with an iron fist, she's deeply conflicted by a mixture of familial loyalty, tradition, and the desire to give in to the call of her true passion.

With her perfect sister no longer on the rise to principal dancer of the ballet company, the expectation falls to her. Unfortunately, her love of dance lies somewhere else... in a funky little corner of the world called First Avenue under the starbright gaze of His Royal Highness of shredding guitar riffs and sultry vocals.

It's a sweet story carrying some very real world baggage. Rosa's struggle isn't an easy one and things aren't necessarily what they seem for those around her either.

Nikki, our 'darling' one.. or the 'hot fox' as Rosa likes to call him, is the big reason I wanted to read this book and he was absolutely worth the effort. Honestly though, all the core characters have backstories with substance and something to tell.

It's obvious that Torres has a deep love of dance, Prince, and the old Minneapolis scene. It's definitely not a passing reference here, the story is deeply rooted in both. Having visited First Avenue & 7th Street Entry back in the day.. because if I was going to be in Prince's stomping grounds it was a must.. I completely understand how growing up around there would be something you carry with you for a lifetime. Even passing through, my experience there still echoes through me.

I really enjoyed this read. If you like books centered in historic eras of music, transformative stories of underdogs, and characters who want to live without boundaries.. this is the book for you.

As a former dancer, I was thrilled to read this book! I was transported back to my dance days and was so excited to read The Turning Pointe. This is such a fun read, careless and easy. Readers can get lost in the book, without a care in the world. Something I needed!

Gutting but heart warming debut about love and family and the passion within oneself. It was so fun to read about the setting!

The first 10% of The Turing Pointe drove me nuts with the excessive celebrity worship, one of my least favorite tropes. However, once the author really got into the lives of the characters, I couldn't put it down! This book was devastating yet hopeful, which is not easy to pull off. I felt for all of the characters, each with their own tragedies they were trying to move past. Torres touched on so many social issues that are still there today but were made more poignant by 1980's setting: The AIDS epidemic, gender and sexuality, police brutality, racism, the lives of immigrants in different generations, familial upheaval and trauma, physical disability, and more. Some played a bigger role than others. I've read books before that covered too many topics which can make a book feel so bogged down with the issues its trying to cover that the plot suffers. However, these issues flowed seamlessly into the plot of The Turning Pointe - the story existed in a society where these issues also existed but the story was still the story and it was powerful and beautiful and I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Turning Pointe is a novel about a girl who's family is all wrapped up in the world of ballet. I loved reading this book. I felt like the characters were so relatable.
I found the family dynamic my favorite part of this book even though the whole family had their issues. There are trigger warnings for alcohol abuse, divorce, grief. I found that the way that this book handled all of these issues was done in a way that showed the hard parts of each of these issues without being disrespectful.
I found that the dancing elements were my favorite part. I loved how our main character had a goal in mind and was not going to let it get away.
I think this is the kind of story for those who have a love of theatrical arts. I also think that people who want a good coming of age story this is one for you.
I can not wait for my niece to get older so I can share this book with her. This was definitely a 5 star read for me.

An absolutely wonderful debut novel. A mixture of ballet, Prince , and all the challenges that come with being a teenager. Strongly recommended for anyone who loves dance, 80’s music, and having a passion ( either for a person or performance).

Weighed down by her family expectations and guilt over the accident that left her older sister Gloria unable to care for herself much less be a prima ballerina in their father’s dance company, 16 year-old Rosa longs to dance with the musician Prince who happens to be rehearsing in the studio upstairs. When her father promises that the dancers who pass the audition for company apprentices will dance on stage with Prince, Rosa is determined to be one of them. But when funky cross dressing Nikki enters her life and best friend Kat is acting strange, Rosa struggles to reconcile these expectations with what she longs for.

Things I loved:
💜All the 1980s details
💜The details about ballet
💜The different ways different characters were fighting to be themselves
💜Latinx and queer representation
💜Realizing your parents are people too; carrying their own expectations and guilt
💜Nikki, Kat, and Nikki’s grandma
💜Different kinds of families that aren’t always what they seem from the outside
💜Found family and finding that maybe your actual family is part of your family of choice
💜The emotion, the joy of dance, of expressing passion, of finding and being your true self through dance

A charming and emotional book about navigating family dynamics during a time of trauma and sadness, adjusting to big life changes, muddling through what it means to go from teenager go adult, and having faith in yourself to become who you really are, and the power of friendship and love that gets you through it all. I appreciated the adeptness with which the author handled Rosa and Gloria’s incident, and the different ways people process a serious and disabling event. It may be tough for some readers to get through the emotional turmoil of the medical trauma, but it’s absolutely worth the read if you’re looking for a heartfelt story that runs through all of the emotions. I also absolutely love the amount of queer representation here, and appreciative of all the mentions of LGBTQ+ history such as rampant homophobia during the emergence AIDS crisis, police brutality and abuse against the lgbtq folks they’re meant to protect, and other things such as racism, sexism , colorist, etc. The sociopolitical references and news stories help give visual context and story timeline, which makes it easier to fall in love not just with the characters, but a sense of nostalgia and love for vintage pop culture. Younger readers in its target audiences will enjoy the retro vibes, and elder Milennials and Gen Xers will wax nostalgic. It’s all set against a romantic and brutal world of professionally trained dancers, and reminded me of movies like “save the last dance” and “center stage.” Overall very enjoyable and very memorable and empathetic characters you can really root for and love!

If you're older and loved Center Stage, this book will take you back to those vibes. If you're a young reader looking for a historical fiction that feels contemporary set in the 80s with ballet and heartbreak -- pick this book up. I'm really looking forward to what comes next from Vanessa.

This book left me speechless. I was skeptical at first because it was YA and about pointe dancing. But as a huge Prince fan, I couldn't resist a story about a fellow fan.

Get your tissues ready, cause this book is an emotional rollercoaster. Rosa Dominguez is a teen, thinks like a teen, and acts like a teen. Normally, this means impulsive and insufferable to read, but Roas even when she's being impulsive hooked me in. Her fight to be true to herself, fill her sister's shoes, and keep her family together hit a bit close to home. There were several times where I found myself yelling out loud with her and at her while reading this book. The audiobook also adds an extra layer to the story. I would highly recommend it.

I was not prepared for the level of emotion this book attempted to invoke. It is real. It is gritty. And it does not shy away from pretty sensitive topics like HIV/AIDs, alcoholism, and disability. The author does a great job addressing each topic and paying it the respect it deserves. Rosa's family dynamic is difficult, but she does her best to find who she is and where she belongs among her family members and friends. It is a true coming of age story and I would highly recommend it.

this was such a great debut novel! i was super excited to get accepted for an ARC of this and I was disappointed at all.

in this historical fiction story we follow Rosa through her journey in the ballet world. this story can be brutal at times and we see alot more than just dance. the characters are absolutely lovely and you'll find yourself rooting for them. they all have their issues and struggles they face so you'll also feel sympathetic.

despite loving this i did find some parts a bit iffy. the gore was a bit surprising as someone who's never dealt with the level of extreme dance the characters deal with. that part will probably stick with me when i think of it in the future which isn't the best. i also found the lgbt+ rep and discussions to be mediocre.

Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada for the ARC.

Busted out the pointe shoes for this post- hadn’t worn them in.. 16 years and OW do I definitely not have it anymore.

This book was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t know what to expect but I requested it because of my life long dream of being a Prima Ballerina and going to University for dance (if you saw my stories yesterday a reoccurring knee injury changed those plans for me).

This book is about so much and filled with so much heart - but what stuck with me the most was following your heart. The characters were so beautifully created they truly just jeté right off the page. A great reminder for young folks and adults alike to follow their dreams, break the mold and be as authentically you as you can be ❤️ as hard as that can be.

4.5 stars
My knowledge of ballet is practically non-existent, so I thought I might be left confused by terms in this book, but I wasn’t. From the first line itself, I was completely hooked onto The Turning Pointe. I found myself breezing through it and when I wanted to take a break, I saw that an hour had passed and I had already read 100 pages. The writing style is simple and it draws you into the story.

Reading this felt as though I was reading about events happening to a friend. You can’t help but be endeared to Rosa from the get-go. Ballet is a form of dance that Rosa endures, but her true love lies in funk and jazz music. Though, she is forced to focus on ballet, because of how it ties her to her sister and family. She is also a massive Prince fan and it was so nice to see how similar she was to my own fangirl self with hanging posters and having music CDs.

There are many heart-wrenching things happening throughout the story and it makes you feel not just for Rosa, but for all the characters living through those events. Whether it be Rosa’s best friend, Kat or her supposed rival Stacy and even Rosa’s unapologetically himself, queer love interest Nikki, all of them have their own complex situations and dilemmas to deal with. The Turning Pointe has such an interesting cast of well-rounded characters, that you can’t help but love them all. The family dynamics…oh the family dynamics. Vanessa L. Torres portrays a diverse set of family dynamics throughout the story and the way some of them play felt so heartaching. And some were relatable too.

The Turning Pointe is a heart-wrenching, yet heartwarming debut that is about family, about friendship, about love and about realizing and accepting that your dreams can be different from what other people want them to be.

This one was cute! I'll admit that I'm kind of conflicted on how to rate it, even though it's not a question of whether i enjoyed it. I just didn't love our main character. She was rash, and made some decisions I couldn't support. Other than that though, I really enjoyed this! I loved the ballet elements, and the dance scenes were almost cinematic. I hadn't read many books with dancer MCs, and it's something I definitely enjoyed. The main romance was cute, the friendships were cute, and the plot was cute. I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for an escape from reality in the form of a book!

Thanks to Turn the Page Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

What do you need in a book? The 80s? Ballet? Prince? A beautiful cross dresser? If you answered yes to these questions, then I have the book for you! The Turning Pointe follows ballet dancer Rosa who loves Prince (and well most everything else) more than she loves ballet. She's struggling to find her place in the world, and as much as she says she wants to be a professional ballet dancer, she can't help but look for something else that might make her happier.

This a magnificently written book, and practically every chapter caused a visceral reaction from me. Torres plunges you into every scene with the sounds, scents, and tastes present in everything Rosa experiences. I came to love Rosa so much that my heart broke for her time and again, and I was dying to see her come out on top. Also, as someone who grew up in the 80s, this book dropped me into so much nostalgia that I didn't want to come up for air.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I cannot recommend this book enough, and it's safe to say this is easily one on my favorites of 2022!

The Turning Pointe is a beautiful story of love, friendship, passion and family all in one.

I loved how the author kept it real in terms of the pain and trauma , both physical and emotional, that Rosa felt throughout the story. Also, I loved how the characters were fleshed out so well. Each of them had their own story to tell. Rosa was so real as a character. She made her share of bad decisions but I could clearly see from where she was coming from. I loved the development she had through the story and how she learned to forgive herself and others around her. I adored Nikki and his confidence and strength.

The Turning Pointe is a very well written debut novel by Torres. The raw and honest style of writing with the dimensional characters kept me hooked throughout. Definitely one of my best reads this year.

Taking place in Minnesota in the 80's, we follow Rosa as she fights to break free from her tyrannical ballet Master father and finally move to her own beat. Rosa lives in the shadow of her perfect older sister who was supposed to be the next ballet star of their Minneapolis dance studio, but is now paralyzed after an accident that Rosa believes to be her fault. She must dance for her sister, because she no longer can. When it's announced that none other than Prince is not only using their studio as a rehearsal space, but also auditioning students for a benefit concert, Rosa will do anything to get in front of her hero and finally dance with full abandon.

Hell of a debut! Probably one of the strongest I've ever read. Torres does an incredible job with exploring the grittiness of this time period. Rosa and her family don't live in the greatest neighborhood—prostitutes, drunks, and druggies line the streets as Rosa makes her daily walks to and from the studio. The author also doesn't shy away from showing the harsh and grotesque aspects to ballet. There is a lot of pain and guilt all throughout this story—literal and emotional. These authentic characters really shine through and the writing makes you feel fully immersed in the time period.

This is incredibly well diverse with representation from the lgbtq+, disability, Latinx communities. There are also quite a few triggers: alcoholism, queerphobia, police brutality. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to a younger reader, but I do think this is a really important book and I hope it gets into the hands of a lot of readers.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.