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The Other Side of Perfect Kindle Edition

by Mariko Turk (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 100 ratings
See all formats and editions

For fans of Sarah Dessen and Mary H.K. Choi, this lyrical and emotionally driven novel follows Alina, a young aspiring dancer who suffers a devastating injury and must face a world without ballet—as well as the darker side of her former dream.

Alina Keeler was destined to dance, but then a terrifying fall shatters her leg—and her dreams of a professional ballet career along with it.

After a summer healing (translation: eating vast amounts of Cool Ranch Doritos and binging ballet videos on YouTube), she is forced to trade her pre-professional dance classes for normal high school, where she reluctantly joins the school musical. However, rehearsals offer more than she expected—namely Jude, her annoyingly attractive castmate she just might be falling for.

But to move forward, Alina must make peace with her past and face the racism she experienced in the dance industry. She wonders what it means to yearn for ballet—something so beautiful, yet so broken. And as broken as she feels, can she ever open her heart to someone else?

Touching, romantic, and peppered with humor, this debut novel explores the tenuousness of perfectionism, the possibilities of change, and the importance of raising your voice.
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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    12 years and up
  2. Print length
    337 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    7 and up
  5. Publisher
    Poppy
  6. Publication date
    May 11, 2021
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  11. ISBN-13
    978-0316703406
  12. See all details
Next page

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Alina Keeler, who is half white and half Japanese, was born to be a professional ballerina and that is the only life she has ever known, until a devastating accident forces her out of the ballet world and back into normal high school. Dealing with her anger is only half the battle as she decides to branch out and make new friends and audition for the school musical Singin' in the Rain. Alina's new best friend Margot, who is half Mexican, is outspoken and just the right amount of pushy and it's enough to help Alina consider leaving the past behind. Central to the story is Alina and her sister, Josie's, relationship and the cultural discrimination in the ballet industry. Josie helps Alina see that Asian and Black dancers are represented falsely in traditional ballet narratives, and Josie's dance school challenges this destructive history by providing a new look at characters in The Nutcracker. During this shift in worlds for Alina, she discovers love and heartbreak, how to reach out to her former ballet best friend, and how to tackle resentment with other emotions instead of anger. VERDICT A strong portrayal of musical theater, ballet, the arts, and culture all merged into a coming-of-age story that will resonate with teens.-Stephanie Wilkes, Good Hope M.S., West Monroe, LAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

Praise for The Other Side of Perfect:

- YALSA's 2022 Best Fiction For Young Adults

"Debut novelist Turk writes with a great deal of nuance.... A well-choreographed story of hope, resilience, and personal growth."―Booklist

"The writing is engaging, sentimental moments will please romance lovers, and the hopeful, yet realistic, ending is satisfying. A love story with a refreshing focus on confronting systemic racism."―Kirkus

"A strong portrayal of musical theater, ballet, the arts, and culture all merged into a coming-of-age story that will resonate." ―SLJ

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08HHXK76T
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Poppy (May 11, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 11, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5340 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 337 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0316703419
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 100 ratings

About the author

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Mariko Turk

Mariko Turk

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Mariko Turk grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in creative writing. She received her PhD in English from the University of Florida, with a concentration in children’s literature. Currently, she works as a Writing Center consultant at the University of Colorado Boulder. She lives in Colorado with her husband and baby daughter, where she enjoys tea, walks, and stories of all kinds. The Other Side of Perfect is her debut novel.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
100 global ratings
A compelling read with great characters and a deeper message.
5 Stars
A compelling read with great characters and a deeper message.
The reader is immersed in a world of not only ballet, but musical theater, with a cast of characters who are unique, diverse and hilarious! But there’s a deeper message here about internalized racism and how a single person can take a stand and make a difference.Favorite quote:“I marveled at how familiar and surprising and fascinating and beautiful people could be. Like works of art, all in themselves.”Another wonderful quote (so true!): “Beautiful things had bad parts, and bad things had beautiful ones, and I knew now that I could work with that. I could hold on to the beauty and the good. I could try to fix the bad.”
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Top reviews from the United States

Casey Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous story of growth and hope
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book offers a lovely portrait of a girl grieving a lost dream and finding a new way forward. Alina is messy and complex and funny, and it's a joy to move through the story with her. The supporting characters are well-realized, with perspectives and ideas of their own. The discussions of the flaws within ballet and the racism Alina and her friend Colleen faced as dancers are deeply nuanced, allowing space for Alina to criticize the broken parts while remembering the parts that matter. Alina's romance with Jude is delightful, too--I spent the whole book rooting for them! Beautiful dynamite indeed!
2 people found this helpful
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Shaista
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic novel!
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2021
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Beautifully written, funny and utterly absorbing story. Loved the book's deft and layered discussion of multiple themes, including systemic racism in traditional ballet, art vs. relationships, coping with loss and change, all wrapped up in a Japanese American girl's coming-of-age story. A must-read for fans of YA and children's lit.
One person found this helpful
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Ariel • The Book View
4.0 out of 5 stars Full of Heart
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
If you're looking for a book full or heart and devastating truths, you've come to the right place. This YA novel gets into the nitty-gritty lessons about grief, hardship, and the injustices we encounter in this world.

This book is darker than most YA contemporary novels I read because the main character, Alina, is going through so much. She's just lost out on her dream of becoming a dancer and must come to terms with her new future, on top of other cruel encounters along the way. Our former dancer is angry and upset and hurt and in pain over what she nearly had. There are a lot of hard emotions she's trying to cope with. I think Turk did an amazing job of presenting these emotions and helping our character work through them with the help of new and old friends around her.

And there are a lot of great characters in this book. We get to meet a whole new group of friends in the theatre, as Alina has to try to find something to replace dancing in her life. They are fun and encouraging and I just wanted to give them all a big hug.

I am especially a fan of Jude (obviously). I think Turk did a great job of adding in the romance of Jude and Alina without taking away from the more serious parts of this book. Alina needed more support in her life and she was able to find it through her new group of friends, but especially through Jude. He was always there and just understood her so well. And even when he didn't quite understand, he was there to lend a shoulder to cry on.

There are lots of lessons to be learned from this book. While there were times it felt like Turk was trying to teach an advanced lesson through teenagers, I was mostly okay with it. They were lessons that needed to be taught and talked about so I'm glad they were brought up in this book.

As I've said before, something that really affects the rating of a book for me is pacing. Unfortunately, this book could be pretty slow at times. It was talking about a lot of hard topics so I think the focus was more on discussing these things rather than advancing a plot, but still. I like to be entertained and there were a few moments where I found myself bored.

Overall, however, this was a very enjoyable book. I'm so happy I got the opportunity to get to know Alina and take this tough journey with her. I can only hope all dancers of color out there and those who have suffered devasting loss can receive the justice and healing they need.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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H. Bliss
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Book about Dance and Love
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
I loved this book and felt like it nailed nuanced, introspective change like no other YA book I've read. It's perfect for fans of dance, ballet, musicals, and young love. I've already bought copies for friends!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read with great characters and a deeper message.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
The reader is immersed in a world of not only ballet, but musical theater, with a cast of characters who are unique, diverse and hilarious! But there’s a deeper message here about internalized racism and how a single person can take a stand and make a difference.

Favorite quote:
“I marveled at how familiar and surprising and fascinating and beautiful people could be. Like works of art, all in themselves.”

Another wonderful quote (so true!): “Beautiful things had bad parts, and bad things had beautiful ones, and I knew now that I could work with that. I could hold on to the beauty and the good. I could try to fix the bad.”
Customer image
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read with great characters and a deeper message.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
The reader is immersed in a world of not only ballet, but musical theater, with a cast of characters who are unique, diverse and hilarious! But there’s a deeper message here about internalized racism and how a single person can take a stand and make a difference.

Favorite quote:
“I marveled at how familiar and surprising and fascinating and beautiful people could be. Like works of art, all in themselves.”

Another wonderful quote (so true!): “Beautiful things had bad parts, and bad things had beautiful ones, and I knew now that I could work with that. I could hold on to the beauty and the good. I could try to fix the bad.”
Images in this review
Customer image
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Claudia J. Mills
5.0 out of 5 stars What a Beautiful Book!
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2024
What do you do when the dream you've built your whole life around is shattered? This is the question protagonist Alina Keeler faces when a dancing accident injures her leg so badly that that the career, and life, she has dreamed of, and worked toward for years, and sacrificed everything else for, is gone forever. I came to this book not as a teen reader, but as an older woman facing my own need to reevaluate the dreams I've built my own life around as I age, and it spoke to me powerfully - and hopefully - of how one can move forward even after devastating loss. Mariko Turk succeeds wonderfully in sharing Alina's long, slow, complicated journey to recovery, along the way offering an irresistible slow-burn romance storyline as well as exposing the still-prevalent racism in the world of classical ballet. Alina comes to challenge the racism of certain casting choices, while also still loving the beautiful traditions and history of ballet, the book addressing these issues with rare nuance. It was a joy to read this book, and I won't forget it any time soon.
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enubrius
3.0 out of 5 stars Dance, ballerina, dance.... or, not
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2021
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
Reading this was, well it was like seeing a performance of a traditionally staged "Nutcracker" put on by the graduating class of a respectable, albeit not for "professionals", school of dance
It's all very well done; there is nothing terribly surprising in it but nothing terribly wrong, either
You don't object to the time spent on it. It even makes you pleasantly pleased to have done it
But there's no reason for it to linger in the mind... and, alas, it doesn't
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

kea
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice book
Reviewed in Germany on January 25, 2022
Verified Purchase
Story is nice to read yet I would like to get to know the characters deeper it stays on scratch about a lot. Don’t always like the language of heroin or the to open end. Feels like there should be a part 2
One person found this helpful
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