Former dancer Charis Marsh immerses young readers in the world of pliés and jetés in her debut novel. The first book in the Ballet School Confidential series centres on the lives of four aspiring dancers at the Vancouver International Ballet Academy.

Although the characters’ issues differ, the troubles they face often feel stereotypical and predictable. Kaitlyn was a star at her old school, but at VIBA she faces stiffer competition; Taylor’s a great dancer, but her lack of smarts is holding her back; Alexandra won major competitions, but she’s still mocked by her classmates; Julian loves to dance, but the pressures of his new school are sometimes too much to handle. Any parts of the teens’ minds that aren’t occupied by dance are filled with body issues, gossip, and bullying, but the characters aren’t developed beyond superficial descriptions and dramas.

The novel also focuses on an enormous number of secondary characters – attention that would have been better paid to creating stronger protagonists. Similarly, the novel’s pace occasionally feels out of sync, with repetitive dance class scenes dragging on too long, and suspenseful, dramatic sections – such as Taylor witnessing a man getting tasered by the police on Halloween – being wrapped up too quickly.

The book’s greatest strength is Marsh’s ability to thrust readers into dance-school life. Those who love to dance, as well as dancers who are reluctant readers, will devour this novel. But Marsh expects her readers to know a fair amount of dance terminology and doesn’t spend much time bringing newcomers up to speed. Including a glossary would have made this novel more accessible to non-dancers.