Carol M. Tanzman
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Source: Publisher
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Ever feel like someone's watching you? Me, too. But lately it's been happening in my room.When I'm alone.
A friend posted a video of me dancing online, and now I'm no longer Alicia Ruffino. I'm dancergirl. And suddenly it's like me against the world.— everyone's got opinions.
My admirers want more, the haters hate, my best friend Jacy,— even he's acting weird. And some stalker isn't content to just watch anymore.
Ali. Dancergirl. Whatever you know me as, however you've seen me online, I've trained my whole life to be the best dancer I can be. But if someone watching has their way, I could lose way more than just my love of dancing. I could lose my life.
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CATCHALL
So, I went into dancergirl (You have no freaking clue how hard it is for me not to capitalize that. It is just wrong on SO many levels.) not having any idea what to expect. I'm a dancer, so that's really the thing that drew me to this book so much. I never expected to find it so thrilling!THE HEROINE
ALI
I had a difficult time with Ali sometimes, but for the most part I could relate to he. She's every teen, really. Not invisible, but definitely nit one of the best-known girls in the school. And like many teens, she has a passion for something. For her, like me, it's dancing. Ali loves dancing more than anything. So when there's something that threatens that, she stands up and tries to solve the mystery. She's really strong heroine.
THE LOVE INTERESTS
JACY
So. Jacy. For a long time, we don't really know what's going on with Jacy. There's obviously something going on, but we don't know what it is. But even so, we know that he's not his usual self. When we finally find out what is wrong, I was completely shocked and surprised. That was one twist that I never saw coming, and I loved the twist of tragedy and everything it added.
LUKE
Honestly, I'm not sure I get the point of Luke. It's like authors have to throw in a second pointless love interest in every book to show that the heroine is really desirable or something. I don't get it. What is interesting, though, is that Carol gives Luke a backstory with not everything filled in.
THE FRIEND
CHARLIE
Charlie is actually a pretty central character. He's the one who starts the whole dancergirl (ahhhhhh!) thing, and really rockets Ali to her overnight fame, the fame that attracts her stalker's attention. And he really tries very hard to help Ali—or at least he seems to.
THE PLOT
So, the plot! It was marvelous!
I'm totally gushing, but it really was. I don't really read mysteries very often, so of course this one was a really great one to read. Every aspect of it is done so beautifully! I was always on the edge of my seat.
Because goodness, was this book suspenseful! Even though I was fairly certain Carol wouldn't kill anyone, I didn't know for sure! And I think a lot of that is what really helped to keep me going.
What I didn't like: the pacing was awkward. Some things went by really quickly, and others dragged. I really think this unfortunately made this book significantly less enjoyable for me than it would have been otherwise.
Also, I had a few problems with some random side plots that kind of showed up and then fizzled and went nowhere. That was weird.
But overall, I absolutely adored the plot of this book. It was definitely glittering, and absolutely worth reading.
THE ROMANCE
Ah, the romance. To be honest, not a whole lot of romantic development, but it somehow still works. Jacy and Ali have great chemistry and an awesome dynamic form the very first page and that definitely reflects in the novel. I don't know what Ali was doing with Luke, but I guess it kind of somehow did work in the story. Still, I was glad when that was over, and I loved the romance at the end.
THE WRITING
Carol's writing is actually something really unique, but still totally awesome. Ali's voice is very mature but not overly so, and the description is absolutely marvelous. It's always a good thing when I can really picture a character and the world they live in. Carol did that for me. I fell in love with Ali' entire universe and was totally sucked into her story, courtesy of my being happily trapped in her mind.
THE ENDING
dancergirl (Oh. My. GOD. Going crazy, I swear.) was an absolutely thrilling read, and I loved the ending. Everything was very climactic and I never even vaguely guessed the attention of the stalker, even though of course there were clues when I went back and looked. I also loved the happy ending aspect. I did think it was a bit rushed, but that's forgivable.
WRAPUP
I adored dancergirl (Last time I am typing that word. EVER.) and I've already read Circle of Silence (Which, thank God, is properly capitalized.). After reading these two books, I'mm willing to follow Carol Tanzman wherever she takes me. Her romantic young adult thrillers are unbelievably suspenseful and extremely fun. This book was excellent, and I definitely recommend it.
FINE.
***FINAL RATING: 3.45 RED ROSES***
