Pointe follows Theo, a 17-year-old ballet dancer who lives in suburban Chicago and dreams of dancing professionally. As Theo is preparing for a high-stakes audition, her best friend, who had disappeared four years prior, returns. She learns that Theo's kidnapper was Theo's ex-boyfriend, an adult who had lied about his age to date her when she was 13. Throughout the novel, Theo struggles with anorexia and comes to terms with the realization that the relationship she thought was loving was actually more dangerous than she imagined.
Backgroundedit
Colbert began working on Pointe in 2009, inspired by reports of long-term kidnapping cases.[1]
Receptionedit
Pointe received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, who called the novel "extraordinary ", noting that the book includes "honest, confident prose" and "characters whose flaws, struggles, and bad decisions make them real and indelibly memorable".[2]
Christine Heppermann, writing for the Chicago Tribune, described the novel as "searing",[3] and considered the main character "achingly believable", writing that she "inspires that level of connection" where "you long to reach into the pages ... and tell her, "No, you've got it all wrong".[4]
On behalf of Booklist, Daniel Kraus called Pointe a "strong debut [that] believably portrays self-delusion through a first-person voice".[5]
Jill Ratzan, writing for School Library Journal, highlighted how "Colbert bravely chooses realistic, if not necessarily happy resolutions to some subplots", including the resolution of Theo's former romantic relationship. Ratzan also noted, however, that "the abundance of high-interest motifs and devices (an unreliable narrator, statutory rape, kidnapping, eating disorders, and hints of the elite world of ballet) sometimes overloads the story, and the connections among them often feel forced".[6]
Kirkus Reviews said the novel "ultimately misses the…point". They agreed that "Colbert does a commendable job creating authentic teen characters", but noted that "Theo’s struggles with anorexia are surprisingly and disappointingly lacking in emotion" and that "while there are flashbacks aplenty, there are surprisingly few that shed light on the deep connection Theo and Donovan presumably once shared".[7]
Referencesedit
^Freitas, Donna (June 27, 2014). "Spring 2014 Flying Starts: Brandy Colbert". Publishers Weekly. from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
^"Pointe by Brandy Colbert". Publishers Weekly. February 10, 2014. from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
^Heppermann, Christine (30 November 2014). "Why a Y.A.?". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. 18. from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
^Heppermann, Christine (July 12, 2014). "No easy answers when experiencing life, love". Chicago Tribune. p. 13. from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^Kraus, Daniel (April 15, 2014). "Pointe". Booklist. from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
^Ratzan, Jill (March 1, 2014). "Pointe". School Library Journal. from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
^"Pointe". Kirkus Reviews. 2014-02-18. from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
This article about a young adult novel of the 2010s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
pointe, colbert, novel, pointe, 2014, young, adult, novel, brandy, colbert, follows, teen, dancer, suburban, chicago, come, terms, with, dark, past, pointefirst, edition, coverauthorbrandy, colbertpublisherpenguinpublication, dateapril, 2014pages352isbn9780399. Pointe is a 2014 young adult novel by Brandy Colbert It follows a teen dancer in suburban Chicago who has to come to terms with her dark past PointeFirst edition coverAuthorBrandy ColbertPublisherPenguinPublication dateApril 10 2014Pages352ISBN9780399160349 Contents 1 Summary 2 Background 3 Reception 4 ReferencesSummary editPointe follows Theo a 17 year old ballet dancer who lives in suburban Chicago and dreams of dancing professionally As Theo is preparing for a high stakes audition her best friend who had disappeared four years prior returns She learns that Theo s kidnapper was Theo s ex boyfriend an adult who had lied about his age to date her when she was 13 Throughout the novel Theo struggles with anorexia and comes to terms with the realization that the relationship she thought was loving was actually more dangerous than she imagined Background editColbert began working on Pointe in 2009 inspired by reports of long term kidnapping cases 1 Reception editPointe received a starred review from Publishers Weekly who called the novel extraordinary noting that the book includes honest confident prose and characters whose flaws struggles and bad decisions make them real and indelibly memorable 2 Christine Heppermann writing for the Chicago Tribune described the novel as searing 3 and considered the main character achingly believable writing that she inspires that level of connection where you long to reach into the pages and tell her No you ve got it all wrong 4 On behalf of Booklist Daniel Kraus called Pointe a strong debut that believably portrays self delusion through a first person voice 5 Jill Ratzan writing for School Library Journal highlighted how Colbert bravely chooses realistic if not necessarily happy resolutions to some subplots including the resolution of Theo s former romantic relationship Ratzan also noted however that the abundance of high interest motifs and devices an unreliable narrator statutory rape kidnapping eating disorders and hints of the elite world of ballet sometimes overloads the story and the connections among them often feel forced 6 Kirkus Reviews said the novel ultimately misses the point They agreed that Colbert does a commendable job creating authentic teen characters but noted that Theo s struggles with anorexia are surprisingly and disappointingly lacking in emotion and that while there are flashbacks aplenty there are surprisingly few that shed light on the deep connection Theo and Donovan presumably once shared 7 References edit Freitas Donna June 27 2014 Spring 2014 Flying Starts Brandy Colbert Publishers Weekly Archived from the original on November 29 2018 Retrieved November 29 2018 Pointe by Brandy Colbert Publishers Weekly February 10 2014 Archived from the original on September 9 2023 Retrieved December 12 2023 Heppermann Christine 30 November 2014 Why a Y A Chicago Tribune Chicago Illinois p 18 Archived from the original on 12 December 2023 Retrieved 18 October 2019 Heppermann Christine July 12 2014 No easy answers when experiencing life love Chicago Tribune p 13 Archived from the original on 18 October 2019 Retrieved 18 October 2019 via Newspapers com Kraus Daniel April 15 2014 Pointe Booklist Archived from the original on December 2 2022 Retrieved December 12 2023 Ratzan Jill March 1 2014 Pointe School Library Journal Archived from the original on December 12 2023 Retrieved December 12 2023 Pointe Kirkus Reviews 2014 02 18 Archived from the original on 2020 09 27 Retrieved December 12 2023 nbsp This article about a young adult novel of the 2010s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pointe Colbert novel amp oldid 1202551791, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
