Pointe

Written by Brandy Colbert

Narrated by Tamika Katon-Donegal

Theo is better now.

She’s eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns
home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction—and his abductor.

Donovan isn’t talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn’t do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she’s been living
for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse.

Brandy Colbert dazzles in this heartbreaking yet hopeful debut novel about learning how to let go of even our most shameful secrets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705047484

Brandy Colbert

Brandy Colbert is the award-winning author of several books for children and teens, including Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which was the winner of the 2022 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and a finalist for the American Library Association's Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award. Her other acclaimed books include The Blackwoods, Pointe, The Voting Booth, The Only Black Girls in Town, and the Stonewall Book Award winner Little & Lion. A member of the faculty at Hamline University's MFA program in writing for children, Brandy lives in Los Angeles. You can find her online at brandycolbert.com.

Reviews for Pointe

[amandanan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Aggravatin'.

For some reason, I was hoping for a story like Center Stage or Dance Academy. However, it was less about ballet and more about pedophilia, eating disorders and adults I can only consider to be ignorant. It's hard for me to enjoy a book with a protagonist who's not sensical. There was also so little mention of the kidnapping.

[Juan Carlos Malik · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A BOOK ABOUT PEDERASTY :o, EATING DISORDERS, ADOLESCENT LOVE, AND KIDNAPPING. MY HEAD IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. THESE ARE TRULY HARD BOOKS TO FACE BUT NECESSARY FOR ADOLESCENTS TO READ. THANK YOU BRANDY COLBERT FOR TAKING THE RISK TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN LITERATURE.

Why read "Ponte"?

1. Because of the very realistic way it explains the themes mentioned above. Each chapter approaches them from a psychological, social, mysterious, and painful perspective, and while you're reading, you don't know where the plot will take you until it explodes in the last chapters, leaving you with a fascinating taste for the storyline and an internal emptiness due to conflicting feelings.
2. It allows you to understand the context of a teenager, from their school context with teachers, homework, and pressures, to the context of trust among friends, first romances, and dreams to achieve, without overlooking the black cloud that gnaws at our protagonists, their internal hell.
3. Although the cover suggests otherwise, the ballet theme is just to add an extra layer to the whirlwind of problems our protagonist faces. But believe me, these parts are very well justified, and you even explore music and dance steps.
4. Our protagonist truly undergoes so many changes that she becomes a character full of nuances, prompting you to say: "THIS IS HOW TO WRITE, THESE ARE NOT FLAT CHARACTERS; THIS IS TAKING THE RISK TO WRITE IN DIFFERENT WAYS."
5. The ending is so gray and sad that it is so coherent with the plot that I must applaud it. And the message of strength and courage is so well supported that it makes the novel grow in unimaginable ways.

If you are tired of young adult books and their sweet themes and happy endings, this book stands out among them for its originality, its risk-taking, but above all for its accurate way of presenting such cruel themes that occur in our daily lives and that many adolescents might be experiencing right now.

FOR MY BEST READS OF THIS YEAR. (Translated from Spanish)

[kaethe_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Backlighting is the new whitewash. If the main character is literally a black void on the cover, it must be about a black character, but the publishers are hoping some white people won't notice. Sigh.

Library copy

[heatherlinc · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I didn't finish this book, too much emphasis on parties, drugs and alcohol, and not enough on dancing.

[olegalca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Cannot recommend this book highly enough. Engaging, suspenseful, emotional and well-paced. I hope to see more from Colbert in the future.

[brainannex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book needs a different cover. It doesn't do any justice to the story inside. This book is about ballet like Field of Dreams is about baseball. The ballet is a tool, a metaphor. Instead, this is a story of a young girl who has made some poor decisions and only, after her world is shaken when her former best friend returns after being abducted years ago, does she realize the extent of her errors and of her pain. Feel confident giving this to fans of Laurie Halse Anderson.