I really enjoyed The Rhythm of My Soul by Elin Dyer! This book tells the story of a group of ballerinas and danseurs at a ballet academy and company in the UK. Told from three alternating perspectives, we see the drastic measures males and females go to in order to survive the stressful and competitive world of joining ballet companies.
The book begins with narration by Taryn, a 17 year old girl who is see as the obvious choice for a coveted spot in the Roseheart professional company with her dance partner Teddy. She and Teddy make the perfect dance couple because of their sexualities, Taryn is Aroace (Aromantic and Asexual), and Teddy is Asexual, therefore there is no pressure to date others because everyone wonders if they are secretly a couple. When Teddy is injured during their final academy performance, her fate is left uncertain because the two dancers were a package deal.
Soon we hear from Teddy as well. It turns out that the reason he was injured was because he blacked out in the middle of his dance. The doctors think the cause is a heart condition which may prevent him from ever dancing again. Secretly he hides an eating disorder from everyone including Taryn. Teddy is determined to get back to Roseheart and keep dancing with Taryn, whether he is officially diagnosed with a heart condition or not.
With Teddy out of the picture for at least the time being, Roseheart decides that there are no graduating male danseurs that would compliment Taryn, thus making it impossible to offer the position to her with no partner. They decide to try out a danseur from France named Jaidev, essentially giving Taryn a second chance at an opportunity she has been working towards for years. The other academy and company dancers do not love this sudden change in practice as it has always been two graduating students accepted into the company. Suddenly Jaidev and Taryn are the targets of rumours, hazing and threats. As their pasts begin to haunt them and with their position in the company at stake, Taryn and Jaidev are tested in more ways than just a company dance assessment!
This YA has the perfect amount of teen drama (lies, secrets, bullying, dating, parental divorce) and realistic problems like teen pregnancy and abortion, rape, being outed, eating disorders and trauma, while also adding elements specific to this setting, such as dance related injuries, threats and the physical and mental impact of the competitiveness the program requires. It reminds me a lot of Tiny Pretty Things series by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton which I reviewed in this post and absolutely loved. There were actually a lot of similarities in the books, especially when it came to the types of threats and violence (lipstick on the mirror, placing something sharp in a pointe shoe) and storylines, competing for a spot, eating disorders, fears of becoming injured. So if you've read that series, this is definitely one you need to check out!
The Rhythm of my Soul is a fast moving, yet easy to follow story, with slow reveal of character backstories and motives, adding elements of thriller/surprise to the story. I also found out at the end that there is at least one more book in the series coming out soon, so I'm really looking forward to picking that one up to see what happens to these dancers once they are officially in the Roseheart company!
As far as genre appropriateness, there are some scenes of violence (mainly threats with a knife, and a descriptive "swirlie"/toilet dunking scene), but nothing a YA reader couldn't handle. There's also no sex, alcohol or drug use (other than mention of date rape drugs) making it the perfect book for younger YA readers. I would definitely recommend this book to ballet and YA lovers and teens in the age 13-18 range. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!