This is a well written memoir by the first black Rockette. Being the first of anything is hard, but being the first black makes things even harder. We follow the authors struggles and triumphs in achieving her dream and fighting to support her family. This took me back to my days of seeing the Rockettes on Tv and remembering their thin long legs and the routines. I did learn a few new thing about the Rockettes but more about this author and her struggles readers will appreciate because they are relatable. To me especially after having went through a divorce and custody battle. But moral of this one God doesn’t put on you more than you can handle.

Becoming Spectacular is a memoir about Jennifer Jones, the first Africa American Rockette. As someone that did not previusly know about Jennifer and her story I was exited to hear about her life story. I love to read unique memoirs so I was happy to get a glimpse into her life story. As a New Jersey native is was exciting to hear Jennifers ties to different cities in NJ. While Jennifer has a beautiful story, the writing at times felt a bit disjointed. Some parts read as if evveryone would know certain dance terminology (She uses the term "VOP" but doesnt tell the reader what it means.) At times Jennifer would jump into another memory but the reader would be left guessing certain details or time periods that they took place. Lastly, Jennifer has many instances that involve flat out racism, relationship abuse, and an illness but fails to descibe her emotions and the emotions of those most close to her. I think this would also benefit having photos interlaced into the chapters, Who wouldnt' want to see Jennifer in her Rockette costume or a SuperBowl pick, even her on Broadway..something! Although inspiring it needed some pumping up to keep the reader invested.

Why Did I Listen To Becoming Spectacular by Jennifer Jones

Becoming Spectacular caught my attention on Netgalley because it looked like an interesting memoir. I wasn't familiar with who Jennifer Jones was prior to reading this memoir which I find to be unfortunate as she was the first African American rockette. Although I do not know the full history of the Radio City Rockettes, I do know that they have been known to be an exclusive and normally predominantly white female group. So, the fact that she was even cast in the first place was honestly pretty ground breaking.

What’s The Story Here?
Becoming Spectacular is the memoir of dancer Jennifer Jones who was the first African American selected to be a Radio City Rockette. It follows her journey from childhood to present day delving into her various life experiences.

What Did I Think Of Becoming Spectacular
Honestly when I first saw Becoming Spectacular I expected there to be more focus on her experience as a rockette since it was so prominent in the title. Like I said the fact that she was even cast as a rockette was groundbreaking at the time (still is even today). Yet, that part of her life is a very brief feature. Now I understand that Jennifer Jones has an entire life beyond being a rockette but, I really did expect her to do more of a deep dive into her experience.

I also found the time line to be a bit choppy as it had a tendency to jump all over the place. I really had to try and pay attention to what I was reading or I would have to rewind and listen to it again. There were also times when I found the author to be a bit disingenuous. I know that this was her experience but, it never seemed like she took personal accountability when things went sour in her life.

How’s The Narration?
Becoming Spectacular is narrated by Chanté McCormick and is five hours and 44 hours in length. I was a little disappointed that Jennifer Jones was not narrating her own memoir but, I understand that not all authors want to narrate their stories. Overall, the narration was good but as I mentioned before I really had to pay attention with the way that the time line jumped around.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amistad for the eARC.

Becoming Spectacular jumped out at me after finished The Third Gilmore Girl and loving the behind the scenes broadway content. While I did enjoy this story, it is very much a life story, and not focused solely on her time as a Rockette. That being said, I still learned a lot that I didn’t know. As a millennial, I find it important to be reminded of how recent racism and sexism were still pretty blatantly occurring. The fact that Jennifer did not join the Rockettes until 1987 spoke volumes to this. Thank you to Jennifer Jones for sharing your story.

I enjoyed learning about an institution whos talents I've enjoyed but never really knew much about. It was especially cool to learn about the first African American to achieve joining this organization.

I loved this so much my mom grew up watching the radio city Rockets and now that I like ballet I now love watching them and this was the perfect read for me to see her hard work and where it got her. I might buy this book.

Before reading this book I had never heard of Jennifer Jones. What an achievement to be the first African American Rockette! Jennifer is open about her struggles (financially, mentally and emotionally) to support herself and her family while pursuing her dreams. She also emphasizes the importance of advocating for oneself when being treated unfairly or ignored. I loved that in spite of her struggles she kept pushing forward and never giving up. Highly recommend for those who enjoy stories of lesser known trailblazers.

This book was an eye opener. I’ve always heard of the rockettes but never thought to look into who the first African American one was. This is a book about chasing your dreams no matter how many people doubt them and defying the odds. It makes me all the more excited to catch a show this next holiday season!

Thanks Amistad and NetGalley for the gifted DRC book.

Jones’ writing was easy to read and felt like listening to a friend tell you a story. Though flashbacks were interjected into the timeline, I had no problem following along. I appreciated that the whole of Jones’ life was discussed, including her battle with cancer, rather than keeping sole focus on the Rockettes. While becoming the first African American Rockette is absolutely spectacular, it would be a shame to reduce her life to this one accomplishment rather than acknowledge and celebrate all her other challenges and joys. Her journey is truly one of resilience.

I'm a huge fan of the Rockettes and I LOVE learning about the lore and history of the organization, but I'm sad to report this book fell flat. It was just fine. I wanted more behind-the-scenes of being a Rockette, but it felt more like a surface-level collection of life events.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read. As a former dancer myself who grew up in NY and was obsessed with the Rockettes as a young girl, it was great to get a peek behind the curtain. However, I do wish that there would have been more in depth exploration of her training and her performance career, as it felt some of it was a bit brushed over – especially with the title indicating this book was about her journey to becoming the first Black Rockette. In addition, the messages about weight, food, and body image were a bit troubling. Thank you for the opportunity read this ARC, and it really was a great read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Becoming Spectacular.

As soon as I saw the title, I knew I had to read this book. My daughter is a dancer and has been in absolute awe of the Rockettes since she started dancing at 2. I was excited for a glimpse into their world.

While I did enjoy the book, there were a couple things that kept it from being a great read. First, the timeline jumped around quite a bit, and suddenly years passed without context. That made for a choppy read. Another thing that kind of drove my crazy was the lack of accountability and ownership for anything negative that happened in the author's life. Life very much happened to her, and she never accepted the blame or acknowledged her mistakes in any capacity. Finally, this books covers the author's entire life to present(ish) day. There is very little focus on the actual Rockette time. I was hoping for more.

When I saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. I waited to be approved with bated breath and let out a whoop when I got the email allowing me to download the book. I grew up with dreams of being a Rockette. Dreams I knew would never come true because of my height, but dreams nonetheless. I was so excited to read Jennifer's story.
I will say, I expected the book to focus more on her career and training as a dancer and performer. Those parts of her story rushed by all too quickly and I would have liked to hear more. There were also a few small anecdotes that I couldn't find reason for being told. That said, it was an interesting read. I finished in one day and as I said, it left me wanting more. This one is a Read It!

Note: I received an ARC of this book, at no cost to myself, from NetGalley

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Spectacular in every way. Jennifer Jones delivers on a very public forum to discuss her very private life and as a reader, I'm thankful she did. Taking us through her life in the 60's and breaking ceilings as the first Black Rockette, I found her story very emotional. She is very inspiring and tells her story very directly. She tells us of what was happening politically and historically as she was growing up. I enjoyed her step by step description of auditioning and then becoming a Rockette. Also living in NJ, many of the places she described, I knew them and enjoyed learning of her life in New York City. Highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an advance readers copy of this book.

This warmly told memoir is the story of the first Black Rockette. It strikes a rather poignant note, as the diversity, equity, and inclusivity she credits with her success, and champions for others, today are under attack by the Federal government.

Jennifer Jones’ story reflects deep love for her biracial family and her chosen profession, as she traces the course of both, and puts them in the social context of the 1960’s and onward.

The narrative voice changes throughout the book, sometimes breathless, sometimes, dramatic, sometimes instructive, sometimes “down to earth,” but the combination gives a textured sense of her experiences and her understanding of them.

While perhaps not sophisticated enough for a general adult audience, this could be a good Young Adult book, introducing issues faced by a young person deeply committed to a dream, and the support, tenaciousness and good fortune that brought her success.

In 1988, entertainer and dancer Jennifer Jones, a biracial woman, born and raised in Belleville, New Jersey, became the first African-American to perform with The Radio City Rockettes. In her new memoir, Becoming Spectacular: The Rhythm of Resilience from the First African American Rockette, she tells the straight-forward but painstaking story as to how she was able to finally break through and get herself onto that most famous of lineups: “Preparation plus opportunity.” What makes her narrative so compelling, however, is how matter-of-fact it is. Jones, although a trailblazer, does not take this opportunity to place herself into the position of Civil Rights icon or a noteworthy representative of Black culture. Instead, Jones talks about herself as just a hard-worker who persevered and sacrificed throughout her entire life to perfect her craft and become an employed dancer.

The Review is coming out in ArtsFuse in the coming weeks...so, just keep watch moving forward.

I love learning about Jennifer’s life and the history of the Rockettes! I think it is a nice reminder that firsts have to endure so much for those that would follow in their footsteps. Jennifer has a clear and engaging voice and I would be interested to know what she makes of the organization now but this was an interesting read.

I was so excited to see this title pop up on NetGalley. Like Jennifer, I grew up in anew Jersey and was a dancer, so I was no stranger to The Rockettes and their Christmas Spectacular, so I was excited to know a lot of the references geographically and within the dance world like Broadway Dance Center and Frank Hatchett.

I appreciated this view and couldn’t believe how frustratingly and infuriatingly a long and overdue time it took to diversify the line and that even when it started to happen, it was barely a trickle and those dancers breaking barriers had a lot to tackle. Jennifer shares her unique experience in an easy to read way that tackles heavy issues and movements in a light and fast paced way without skirting around important facts. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies and she paints a great message that someone has to be first and often that person is simply just trying to do something that they love and didn’t start out trying to overcome some obstacle or challenge. I was astonished by the behavior of some of the fellow dancers and staffers of the organization and their reactions and am glad they are being brought to light.

My only qualm was the breakdown of the book which was quite literally 30% personal background, 40% time getting to and performing with the rockettes, and 30% life and jobs afterwards. I wish it had delved deeper into her time on the line, the issues she faced, maybe interviews with other dancers who faced similar treatment or better (hopefully!) treatment down the road. I was expecting the rockette focus to be heavier or would want the title and overview to be broadened to preview more about Jennifer and her career and life as a whole.

I was excited to read Becoming Spectacular by Jennifer Jones, intrigued by the story of the first African American Rockette and her groundbreaking journey. While her story is undeniably inspiring, I found myself struggling to stay engaged and ultimately couldn’t finish the book.

One of the challenges for me was that the memoir often veered into self-help territory, with frequent “if I can do it, you can too” messages about hard work and determination. While these sentiments are uplifting, they became repetitive and detracted from the storytelling for me.

Additionally, the level of detail in the book felt overwhelming at times. While I can appreciate the effort to provide a thorough account, it often slowed the narrative and made it difficult to maintain my interest.

Despite these challenges, Jennifer Jones’ story is an important and courageous one, and I admire her strength and perseverance in breaking barriers. Readers who enjoy deeply detailed memoirs and motivational narratives may find more to appreciate here than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Amistad Publishing for sharing this copy with me.

I enjoyed getting to read this memoir and learning about what was happening with Jennifer Jones. It was a great peek in the Rockette world and thought the stories were really well done. It kept me reading and was glad I got to read this.