Release Date: March 1st, 2022
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 352
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | Indiebound
Synopsis
In this raw, searingly honest debut young adult novel, a former aspiring ballerina must confront her past in order to move forward from a devastating fall that leaves her without the use of her legs.
Genie used to fouetté across the stage. Now the only thing she’s turning are the wheels to her wheelchair. Genie was the star pupil at her exclusive New York dance school, with a bright future and endless possibilities before her. Now that the future she’s spent years building toward has been snatched away, she can’t stand to be reminded of it—even if it means isolating herself from her best friends and her mother. The only wish this Genie has is to be left alone.
But then she meets Kyle, who also has a “used to be.” Kyle used to tumble and flip on a gymnastics mat, but a traumatic brain injury has sent him to the same physical therapist that Genie sees. With Kyle’s support, along with her best friend’s insistence that Genie’s time at the barre isn’t over yet, Genie starts to see a new path—one where she doesn’t have to be alone and she finally has the strength to heal from the past.
But healing also means confronting. Confronting the booze her mother, a recovering alcoholic, has been hiding under the kitchen sink; the ex-boyfriend who was there the night of the fall and won’t leave her alone; and Genie’s biggest, most terrifying secret: the fact that the accident may not have been so accidental after all.
Content warnings: Being newly paralyzed from accident, parental alcoholism, abortion.
Review
Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and author Joy L. Smith for allowing me to be on this book tour!
Author Joy L. Smith does a wonderful job of fully pulling you into a read. Genie was written as this real and tangible character and it was hard to separate from her at the end of her story. We see Genie go through so much and I definitely felt like the ending that we get is suitable. This book also dealt with the darker topics of alcoholism and domestic abuse and it was hard to read at times but did not feel unnecessary to the story being told. I truly cannot wait to read more of Smith’s works.
Mood Board
Joy L. Smith is a childcare professional and lives in Queens, New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, she has a bachelor’s degree in human development and differences, with a specialization in communication disorders. She’s been writing since she was a teenager and has been mentored by Ibi Zoboi, Radha Blank, and Emma Straub through the Girls Write Now program. Turning is her debut novel.
TBR and Beyond Book Tour Schedule: Turning
February 28th
Whispering Stories – Review & Favorite Quotes
Melancholic Blithe – Promotional Post
March 1st
Kait Plus Books – Interview
Artfully Bookish – Review & Mood Board
March 2nd
Nine Bookish Lives – Promotional Post
Cocoa With Books – Review
March 3rd
The Book Dutchesses – Interview
Books-N-Bullsh!t – Mood Board
March 4th
Lily’s Cozy Blog – Review & Favorite Quotes
Justice For Readers – Review & Mood Board
March 5th
Stuck in Fiction – Interview
Love, Paola – Journal Spread
March 6th
the nutty bookworm reads alot – Review
Cindy’s Love of Books – Review
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