Sing If You Can't Dance

By Author / Illustrator

Alexia Casale

Genre

Personal Growth

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Faber & Faber

ISBN

9780571373802

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

06-07-2023

Synopsis

An entirely original and much needed authentic perspective from a teenager coming to terms with her disability as she's coming of age.

Ven has her future all planned out. Her dance group is going places and so is she . . . Then she collapses. On stage. In hospital, Ven discovers that she has a medical condition - one that threatens to ruin everything. No more dancing . . . walking is challenging enough. But she doesn't want your pity. Ven is determined to have a big, exciting life. Sure, her future might be different, but it's not over . . . Because if you can't dance, you can always sing!

Refreshing, uplifting and original, Sing if you Can't Dance is the unforgettable story of a teenager living life on her own terms.

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Reviews

Ven loved dancing, it was all she wanted to do until one day she collapses on stage and has to re think her whole future. Sing If You Can't Dance is written in quite a clever way in that you never really get to know what Ven's diagnosis is, because she does not want to be defined by it. All we know is that she has syncope, struggles with chronic pain and dislocates different joints easily.

I quite liked the fact that she isn't given a label. I loved Ven's positive outlook on life, she is a determined character and has no qualms about speaking her mind. She experiences love at first sight with Ren, the new boy at school who hides his facial burn scarring under his hair. I really enjoyed reading Ren's back story with his brother.

The writing style is very real and without giving too much away, the path to true love isn't smooth so it feels very authentic. This is a great summer read as the characters take part in a music festival, and Ven starts to make a new way of life for herself within a singing group, which Ren is a part of. It was great to see the characters grow and come together within the story and find their path in life.

Although the book doesn't go into great detail and there are no explicit scenes, there are subplots surrounding alcoholism and domestic violence so I would say that this book is suited to the older teen.

Sing If You Can't Dance is a superb read. It was really inspiring to see a disability faced with the attitude that Ven has. She is unstoppable and a force to be reckoned with.

336 pages / Reviewed by Clair Bossons, school librarian