"What matters is not what was taken but that we fight."This is a story about wild girls. Girls that are amazing and raw and so free, no one can cage them or separate them. They were beautiful as children - complete and whole when only together. Dawn and Jessie. Until....their parents tore them apart. But that is not where our story begins.Our story begins with 2 girls living separate lives. Dawn is having blackouts, where she wakes up in strange places losing hours of time. She's woken in scary

POINTE, CLAW by Amber Keyser captures the lives of two separated childhood friends, Dawn McCormick and Jessie Vale, as they come of age. Jessie is every mother's perfect child. She's chic, beautiful, independent and a talented ballet dancer with the chance to become a professional. Yet hidden beneath that flawless exterior is her obdurate family who refuses to acknowledge her passion as a realistic career choice. Dawn, on the other hand, is her mother's worst nightmare. Despite taking a college

This review was originally posted on The Moonlight LibraryWhat can I say about Pointe, Claw?I'll start with telling you why I wanted to read it. I love those books that are about performing, whether it be musicians, actors, or dancers. And Keyser is a former ballerina, an actual former performer who can tell it like it is - and she does. She knows intimately not just the moves in ballet but how each muscle works while doing them, and delivers it with the knowledge of someone who hasn't just rese...

I enjoyed reading this book, but I didn't really like the story. I have a really hard time understanding Dawn. I feel like her story was left unresolved. She was turning feral? When did her fugal states begin and why? Did she just fall apart once she and Jesse were separated? I'm sure her shitty family life played a role in her deterioration. She's poked, prodded, and judged by those who are supposed to help and support her. Her mom wants to "fix her"without really helping her, her dad wants to

Review to come.________________BEFORE READINGWhat a bizarre concept!I hadn't thought to imagine that something like this existed, and now that I know it does I am desperate to read it!

‘Pointe, Claw’ by Amber J. Keyser.Publisher: Walker Books.Published: April 1st 2017.Page Count: 280 Pages.Genre: YA Contemporary, Realistic Fiction.Review:Firstly, a huge thank you to Walker Books Australia for sending us a gorgeous copy of ‘Pointe, Claw’ to review 😊.We are honestly so surprised with this book! We don’t normally buy and read these types of books so we had no idea what to expect. We are very pleased that we took the time to read this novel! It was a little weird but at the same t...

3.5 review to follow.

This is a fascinating book about two girls on the edge of wildness. Tense, engrossing, and raw. I liked the animal-like poetic writing for Dawn's thought processes in her fugues. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but I was completely engrossed in the book.

For some reason, I've always been draw to ballet. I've never danced ballet beyond a Parks and Rec program, but I find ballet to be so classically beautiful and, well, elegant, everything I love. Degas is one of my favorite painters, because of it. So I picked up Pointe, Claw, because it reminded me of several other YA ballet books that, well, I didn't like per say, but it seemed like a safe pick. Right away, I could tell that Keyser takes herself way too seriously. I got this impression from bot...

I was a little nervous going into this book because it seemed to have very polarizing reviews. However, I was immediately drawn in by the seductive and intoxicating writing style and storyline - in fact, I don't think I've ever felt like that about a book before.Thanks so much to Thomas Allen Books for sending me a copy of this book for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.This story follows two main POVs and characters, Jessie, a pre-professional ballerina who is fighting for a

Knowing absolutely nothing about this, I chose to read POINTE, CLAW because the cover & dedication page (to her parents 'who raised me fierce') sucked me in. I was dazzled by the first sentence & didn't lose any interest throughout. In a way I'm surprised that this book has such low ratings & isn't more widely known, but in the same sense, I'm not. POINTE, CLAW demands your attention; it is bold, brave, unapologetic, raw, beautiful. Keyser doesn't hold the reader's hand or attempt to sugarcoat t...

Rating: 3.5 StarsPointe, Claw by Amber J. Keyser was one of those rare books that was a wild ride that culminated in my not being quite sure what I read while still being relatively pleased at the end.The story of Jessie and Dawn is told in alternating points of view, each of which has its own advantages. Jessie is a ballerina working toward a career as a classic dancer whose story was very fluid, much like her style of dance. I noticed that certain elements of her story, particularly classicall...

What matters is not what was takenBUT THAT WE FIGHT.Once upon a time our mothers tucked us in bed. Our fathers woke us up for school. Perhaps they thought we were no different from the china ballerinas I got on every birthday, tiny figurines who got dusted off and moved from stage left to stage right and back again. Rosy-cheeked and graceful, we were girls who did not bite or complain or wander. After all, if we stepped out of line, they could knock us together and watch us shatter."I look at my...

“Pointe Claw” which I won through Goodreads Giveaways is an intense and unusual novel that revolves around two young women, childhood friends torn apart because of the narcissistic self-gratification of two of their parents. One a pre-professional with the Ballet des Arts and the other dealing with blackouts that leave her lost and afraid of not finding her way back home, they suffer pain and heartache as they search for acceptance, love and their own identity.Jessie Vale one of thirteen pre-pro...

*Review copy received from publisher*This is a strange book and I think I had a confused WTF expression all the way through.Is it contemporary? Or is it fantasy trying to be contemporary? I couldn't tell you. Having said that the writing itself is powerful, or it would have been if I had been able to work out what was happening to Dawn. Jessie I understood. She is more straightforward and her life slightly more normal.I need more information, the ending left me even more confused!

I wasn't sure what I would think of this book when I picked it up. It seemed kind of out of the norm for me to read. But I picked it because it fit a couple of my challenges. And I'm really glad I did! It was really intense the whole way through. And I wasn't sure I would really like it when I started it. All I kept thinking was this is weird. But it actually turned out to be really interesting. I felt invested to see what the outcome in both Jessie and Dawns situations/life would be.Dawn and Je...

Intense, beautiful, painful, raw, wild and wonderful... This book was a whirlwind. A beautiful, all-encompassing ode to two girls on the brink of wildness, struggling against the pressures of society and parents and restrictive art forms and bedrooms that feel like cages. Jessie and Dawn carve out spaces for themselves in this world that was not made for them, and watching their struggle and their triumph was moving, inspiring. This is a book about taking up space, something girls are so rarely

i read this book in like 4th grade while disassociating mildly and it made a lasting impression on me. time to reread.

SO GOOD. SO GOOD. I loved this book so flippity flipping much!! Phenomenal. Everyone grab it in 2017 and prepare to be blown away.

Pointe, Claw by Amber J. Keyser, 275 pages. Carolrhoda Lab (Carolrhoda Books), 2017. $18.99Language: R (82 swears, 25 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PGBUYING ADVISORY: HS – NOAUDIENCE APPEAL: LOWJessie is trapped by the knowledge that she has to be the best dancer to get one of the two available company spots or else her parents won’t let her continue dancing. Dawn is trapped by mental illness with her mother in denial and doctors unable to diagnose what is wrong with Dawn. Pulled apart at a...