The following review was based on the unrevised ARC of this work, kindly
provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Lovely!
I confess the summary had led me to believe the book to be a
lighthearted chick lit about dancing. While the beginning did have the
tone, and while there was a lot about dancing after the middle section,
this was a very moving story about a mother trying her best to find
herself after a great loss at the same time she still needs to make sure
her grieving fourteen-year-old will be okay.
Ruth has just lost
her partner to a car accident and all she has left is a great debt and
their teenager daughter, whose best way to express her own feelings is
through dying her hair with non-conventional tones. Having to go back to
her parents' house, Ruth needs to also deal with the first love that
never was, her depression and the financial hole her partner unknowingly
to her dug for then before going.
The
author knew how to keep the story real, she was serious when she needed
to be, ironic to the right extend, and very funny before the plot fell
into the melodrama trap. Her characters were adorable, and even when she
built us to a more thriller-filled scene, she knew how to take the lead
to the end. I will certainly look out for works from her in the future.
What I would point out is how misleading the summary is. As far
as I can remember, David never even dances with Ruth, or really invites
her to it. If I may, I would call say the summary is not only
misleading—I was disappointed this had very little to do with dancing
for the first half—but quite a spoiler, as well.
Another tiny
complaint is Ana Luisa's character. I felt she was stereotypical
Brazilian to a point all her awesomeness irritated me. I did like her,
she was great but did she need all the dark past, the violent brothers,
the colorful dresses, the tasty food to be a good character? So many
troubled characters; and yet she was the only one who time and again was
defined by her ethnicity.
I should also mention this is very
religion-centered. It's not about converting anyone to said religion, or
even to Christianity, but I think atheists, for example, could feel
bothered. On the other hand, the way this religious community worked was
amazing. Not all characters were true altruists, maybe just a few
really were—namely, Ruth's mother and Lois, Ruth's best friend.
Nevertheless, their work reverberated through the story in a beautiful
and yet smooth way I could only feel at awe. If the religion-filled
theme was too much, the author was able to compensate by showing how
much of a difference one act can make toward so many others. The whole
story could be summed up as a chain of good deeds, and some romance
along with this or that trouble.
Rate: 3 out of 5
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