Attitude

By Robin Stevenson

When Cassie comes to Vancouver from Australia for an intensive summer program at a prestigious ballet school, she finds it hard to fit in. A clique of girls who have been at the school a long time don't want the newcomers to get any attention. At first Cassie tries to go along to get along, but when she realizes that some of the visiting summer students are being bullied and threatened, and that she herself is being sabotaged, she finally speaks out—and finds out how far some girls will go to succeed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Oct 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781459803831

Robin Stevenson

Robin Stevenson is an award-winning author of books for kids and teens. Her writing has been translated into several languages and published in more than ten countries. She lives with her family on the west coast of Canada.

Reviews for Attitude

[mrsgardner-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book as part of the Early Reviewers program. This is definitely a book for younger readers (cover suggests ages 11-14). It's a short, easy novel which would be good for struggling readers. Some other reviewers have said the story is "juvenile." I agree that it's not well-developed, but I think it's appropriate for its target audience. There is still evidence of character development and conflict. I think some tween girls would enjoy reading this book. I read it in one evening, and it kept my attention.

[jessica5_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I won a copy of Attitude from Librarything Early Reviewers, and looking at the cover I couldn't wait to read it. I love reading books that involve dancing or the performing arts, so I was really interested to see how this ballet story would turn out. So you could say I was disappointed to find a juvenile story that lacked any real substance. When Cassie gets into a summer dance program in Vancouver, she couldn't be more excited to take her dancing even more seriously. But Vancouver is a world away from Australia, and once she arrives she finds it hard to fit in. With girls who think they own the world, Cassie doesn't know where she should align herself. So when some of the girls take their bullying too far, Cassie decides to stand up to them, which proves to have many more consequences than she could have ever imagined. Like I said, this was a pretty juvenile story. I think that the characters could have been a bit more mature and not as naive for being 13 or 14 years old. Also, the characters seemed to act in a cliche way. You had the main bully who thought she was the best and her best friend who did anything she said to stay in her good graces. Enter the new girl who doesn't want to take their crap and stands up. Like I said, your typical story. I didn't really care for Cassie because everything about her and her friends kind of seemed forced. And the ending? It ends so suddenly and after only 134 pages. I felt like there should have been some extension to the story so that the ending didn't feel so abrupt. While the story sounded promising, Attitude was not the book for me. The characters were too naive and I didn't get into the story at all. It went by super fast, but the story was left hanging open where a lot more could have been added. If you're looking for a performing arts novel with a great and engaging story, I'd skip over this one.

[bagambo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read Attitude in an hour and found myself enjoying every minute of it. The book is about a young Aussie who leaves home to attend an intensive summer ballet program in Canada. She finds herself homesick and embroiled in a bullying ring with her new clique of friends. However, unable to continue 'voting' people off the program, she soon finds herself telling the Queen Bee Bully 'No'. She shares her intel with the rest of the outsiders and believes that things will blow over. Of course, she doesn't realize just how far the Queen Bee will go to win the coveted role of Clara in the upcoming production of The Nutcracker. This book was a quick read that really shows you the scary world of bullying. Its a great read for middle school age kids.

[lauramoore_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I used to dance when I was young, and still love reading books about the lives of dancers, and I also think books about bullying are not only interesting, but important esp. for teenagers. This book is geared towards 11-14 year olds and I think this book was perfect for that age group. The story comes in at 137 pages which is a quick read for young teens. I'm not the targeted age group, and in fact im twice the age group that this is targeted for so to me this book was pretty similistic, but at the same time I think it's a really good read for young teens. So if that is the age group you are in/or prefer to read then I think you will really enjoy this story. *Thanks to Orca Publishing and Librarything Early Reviewers for a review copy. All words are my own, and my own honest opinion.

[fueledbycoffee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Many Thanks to Orca Book Publishers and Library Thing Early Reviewers for an advanced reading copy and the opportunity to write an honest review.I enjoyed this book. I liked that it was short (130+ pages) which would draw in and engage the targeting reading demographic of 11 to 14 yrs old. I always loved ballet growing up (I'm 5ft 10,...sadly, it was not meant to be) but I think it is a setting most young girls could relate to in one way or another.The story tackled the issue of bullying with a conventional plot, conflict, resolution, and character development. I found it rather simplistic albeit, well written and not, as my 10 yr old daughter says, "one of those HUGE chapter books!". I would definitely like to see this in school libraries.

[violetbramble · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cassie Jordan, a fourteen year old ballet student, travels from her home in Australia to study at a prestigious dance academy in Vancouver, Canada. Cassie will be taking a four week intensive class over the summer. If she impresses her instructors she may be asked to stay at the dance academy for a year. While in Canada Cassie is staying with the Harrison family. Edie Harrison, the teenaged daughter of the family, is a student at the academy and will be in classes with Cassie. Edie's best friend, Melissa, is the Queen Bee/Mean Girl of the academy. Melissa sabotages and bullies the new students in attempts to prevent them from being asked to stay at the academy and having a chance to play Clara in The Nutcracker. When Cassie refuses to go along with Melissa and Edie's ideas she becomes Melissa's next target.This book is for grades 6-9. While it's formulaic it is well written and kept my interest throughout. It was also a very quick read. Recommended for younger teens, esp those interested in dance.