Contemporary

The Other Side of Perfect

The Other Side of Perfect

  • Downloads：6798
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-01 06:51:22
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mariko Turk
  • ISBN：0316703400
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

For fans of Sarah Dessen and Mary H。K。 Choi， this lyrical and emotionally driven YA follows Alina， an aspiring dancer who suffers a devastating injury and must face a world without ballet -- as well as the darker side of her former dream。

Alina Keeler was destined to dance， but then a terrifying fall shatters her leg -- and her dreams of a professional ballet career along with it。

After a summer healing （translation: eating vast amounts of Cool Ranch Doritos and binging ballet videos on YouTube）， she is forced to trade her pre-professional dance classes for normal high school， where she reluctantly joins the school musical。 However， rehearsals offer more than she expected -- namely Jude， her annoyingly attractive castmate she just might be falling for。

But to move forward， Alina must make peace with her past and face the racism she experienced in the dance industry。 She wonders what it means to yearn for ballet -- something so beautiful， yet so broken。 And as broken as she feels， can she ever open her heart to someone else？

Touching， romantic， and peppered with humor， this debut novel explores the tenuousness of perfectionism， the possibilities of change， and the importance of raising your voice。

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Reviews

xia ，

i know *i know*im ATTACHED to these dumb teenagers。 i was reading this and i couldnt stop thinking of them。 i cried with them， cheered with them， lived with them。 i cant put into words the magnitude of the connection i feel with this cast but golly gee it's a *loti loved this book it was so real and funny and thrilling and AUGHHHHHH I LOVE IT i know *i know*im ATTACHED to these dumb teenagers。 i was reading this and i couldnt stop thinking of them。 i cried with them， cheered with them， lived with them。 i cant put into words the magnitude of the connection i feel with this cast but golly gee it's a *loti loved this book it was so real and funny and thrilling and AUGHHHHHH I LOVE IT 。。。more

Rachel Meyer ，

I didn't have a lot of expectations about this book going into it， so I was pleasently surprised about how much I liked it。 I was kind of worried it would be all about racism， but it was more of a personal growth/romance novel。Likes:•Alina。 I liked her a lot and I felt for her as she struggled with losing the thing she loved the most。 Losing things or people was a big theme in this book。 Even when she was at her worst， I still understood why she was acting the way she did。•Ballet and dancing。 I I didn't have a lot of expectations about this book going into it， so I was pleasently surprised about how much I liked it。 I was kind of worried it would be all about racism， but it was more of a personal growth/romance novel。Likes:•Alina。 I liked her a lot and I felt for her as she struggled with losing the thing she loved the most。 Losing things or people was a big theme in this book。 Even when she was at her worst， I still understood why she was acting the way she did。•Ballet and dancing。 I love ballet， even if there wasn't a lot of it in this book。 It was also interesting to see some of the darker sides of ballet relating to race。•Jude。 What a sweetie。 Maybe a little too sweet， but he worked well as a foil for Alina。 They were very cute together and helped each other grow。Dislikes:•The gay couple。 Why does there always have to be one of those？•Some of the conversations felt forced， especially as Alina was standing up for herself。 She goes up to her former teacher and just goes off about racism in ballet。 She tells her friends to stop calling another girl a name and they immediately agree and say how wrong they were。 I felt like they needed to flow a little better。 But that's just a me thing。Very nice book。 I could barely put it down from beginning to end。 。。。more

C。G。 Drews ，

This book was just so excellent。 I was keen to start it because of the disability rep and ballerinas， but it only took a few chapters before I knew this would be a book to remember。 The characters！ The themes！ The writing！ I loved it all？！？ It unpacked a lot of really difficult and messy themes， too， and gave us conversations that are really important and that I don't see enough of in YA。 Things like jealousy， losing your purpose in life， knowing when to stand up for yourself， making horrible fr This book was just so excellent。 I was keen to start it because of the disability rep and ballerinas， but it only took a few chapters before I knew this would be a book to remember。 The characters！ The themes！ The writing！ I loved it all？！？ It unpacked a lot of really difficult and messy themes， too， and gave us conversations that are really important and that I don't see enough of in YA。 Things like jealousy， losing your purpose in life， knowing when to stand up for yourself， making horrible friendship mistakes and yet finding a way forward。 It had a huge theme of forgiveness。 Not just forgiving others， but forgiving yourself。 And honestly I got emotional in several parts。 🥺💛 You know when even a scene or a line of a book jumps out at you and you feel SEEN？ That hit here。 As an artist， I just connected a lot to Alina。First we have to talk about the characters。 I LOVED them so much。 They're all dimensional。 Complex。 Messy and loving and proud and funny and broken and beautiful。 After Alina shatters her leg in a fall， she can never go up on pointe again。 So her dream of a professional ballet career is over。 She's back to normal high-school and the "real world"。 Her grief and rage is so so palpable。 Like why her？！？ She was so focused on ballet that literally nothing else mattered。 Now ballet things trigger her grief， she's wretchedly jealous of her old ballet friends。 She gets angry and isolates herself and I felt for her down to my soul。 We feel Alina's excruciating pain and we wince with her as she hates the world and we melt with happiness as she starts to find friends。 You go on such a journey with Alina as she tentatively tries out for the high school musical when she thought she'd never dance again。I still loved ballet， but it didn't love me back。 All I could do was linger on， like a sad， rejected ghost， hurting people who didn't deserve it。 And the secondary cast is AMAZING。 I loved Jude， the absolute softest Soft Boi， who knits and does musicals and purposefully deconstructs toxic masculinity。 Then there's Ethan， his BFF， who is gay and a photographer and so lovely。 And Margot！！ Who is terrifying and sharp and stabby， and she and Alina collide when they most needed each other。 And Colleen， Alina's ex-BFF from ballet school， who she can't bear to talk to but Colleen doesn't give up on Alina 🥺 They were the only two girls of colour in the school too， so they went through a lot together。And I cannot forget Josie！ Alina's younger sister， a modern dancer， and they have this fractious relationship but the arc there is [chef's kiss] relatable and so well done。 Alina and Josie are also biracial Japanese and their parents are from Hawaii。Friendship-group dynamics that are complex and beautiful but sometimes hurt？ We gotcha。A huge theme of the book is jealousy， and it's a hard topic to tackle because jealous can make you into a nasty person。 But it happens in real life a lot？ And actually reading about Alina going through being broken by jealousy and learning to face her feelings was so good。 It also talks about racism in ballet， how Alina accepted a lot of it in order not to "rock the boat" or risk being purposefully overlooked for a part。 She wanted the top parts so she thought she had to accept a side-dish of racism -- which she comes to realise is gross and unacceptable。I just loved how the book gave us real-life messy issues full of strife and ugliness -- and TALKED ABOUT THEM。 Unpacked them。 Talked about the difference between thinking horrible things and being a horrible person。 Life isn't fixed and tied up into a neat-little-bow in the book either， but it definitely tackled everything fantastically。I could pretty much go on forever about how much I adored this book！ It was so perfectly crafted， with characters who literally danced off the page and writing that swept you up and kept you hooked on every word。 A beautiful and emotional story about being broken and being beautiful。Maybe ballet was like beautiful dynamite。 Stunning and dangerous at the same time， so you couldn't love it simply。 You had to figure out how to handle it。 How to love the beautiful parts and defuse the dangerous ones。 。。。more

KP ，

I loved this。 It was not a perfect book （it was repetitive in places， and I really was wondering why the hell the main character wasn't seeing a therapist， which seemed like a pretty major gap）， but I still loved it。 So many theatre references！ So much ballet！ I wish the conversations around racism had been a bit more depthy - I loved the acknowledgement that certain dances in Nutcracker are。。。 not great。。。 and that the ballet teacher has biases about what a ballet dancer "should" look like， but I loved this。 It was not a perfect book （it was repetitive in places， and I really was wondering why the hell the main character wasn't seeing a therapist， which seemed like a pretty major gap）， but I still loved it。 So many theatre references！ So much ballet！ I wish the conversations around racism had been a bit more depthy - I loved the acknowledgement that certain dances in Nutcracker are。。。 not great。。。 and that the ballet teacher has biases about what a ballet dancer "should" look like， but there was more to explore there， and I wish the theatre had been given more than a brief nod about its racist history。 At the very least， I expected there to be a connection between how the nickname Robobitch for Diya （view spoiler）[ started as a nickname for Alina， which means TWO Asian-American characters got slapped with that nickname， and what sort of biases come into play that they BOTH were given that nickname？ （hide spoiler）] But I still thought this was really good， and very enjoyable， and I'm glad I read it。 。。。more

Erin ，

Love， love， loved this one - the themes， the romance， the message。 And it made me nostalgic for being in musicals！

Corrie ，

A critical look at bias and racism that is subtle and natural。 A great way to show kids the importance of speaking up， and also of allowing yourself grace when you fail to do so。

rachel ☾ ，

➸ Trigger warnings for （view spoiler）[racism， parental abandonment discussed， nightmares & sleep difficulty， chronic leg injury （theme）， medical treatment， rehabilitation & surgery for a severely broken leg discussed， and bullying （hide spoiler）]。▷ Representation: Alina （mc） Japanese-American & chronic leg injury; Margot （sc） Mexican-American; Colleen （sc） Black; Ethan （sc） gay; Harrison （sc） achillean。 Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram ➸ Trigger warnings for （view spoiler）[racism， parental abandonment discussed， nightmares & sleep difficulty， chronic leg injury （theme）， medical treatment， rehabilitation & surgery for a severely broken leg discussed， and bullying （hide spoiler）]。▷ Representation: Alina （mc） Japanese-American & chronic leg injury; Margot （sc） Mexican-American; Colleen （sc） Black; Ethan （sc） gay; Harrison （sc） achillean。 Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram 。。。more

Alaina ，

Dang it！ If only there was another 'a' in her name I would have finally found a book where the main character has the same name as me。 Ugh。 Such a dagger to the heart kind of moment guys。 Maybe one day I will find this but for now， I will accept Alina。Now The Other Side of Perfect was such a good book。 I'm honestly not sure why it took me so long to dive into it but I'm so happy that I finally did。 Right after meeting Alina， I honestly didn't know how I felt about here。 There was no instant conn Dang it！ If only there was another 'a' in her name I would have finally found a book where the main character has the same name as me。 Ugh。 Such a dagger to the heart kind of moment guys。 Maybe one day I will find this but for now， I will accept Alina。Now The Other Side of Perfect was such a good book。 I'm honestly not sure why it took me so long to dive into it but I'm so happy that I finally did。 Right after meeting Alina， I honestly didn't know how I felt about here。 There was no instant connection between her and I but I was hopeful that things would go a certain way。 Which， yes， I definitely ended up liking the heck out of this girl。Alina has always had the dream of being a professional ballet dancer。 Whereas， I have a dream of owning my own personal library。 Her dream came crashing down and mine will probably never happen either。 Unless it's like a really small library pantry that could eventually turn into a library closet。 Now I'm used to breaking lots of things - like my weak ass ankles， shoulder cuffs， or my skull （soccer was rough to me guys）。 So when she goes through her own healing situation I could feel her pain。 Well， somewhat。。 because I could always go back into soccer if I wanted but details。 With the pain of never reaching her ballet dreams， she turns to the school musical with like a little teeny tiny bit of excitement。 Yeah drama unfolds throughout the book but we get to see what happened before her injury， how she was actually injured， and how she adapted after the shit storm unleashed on her。 It was all very easy to devour and I liked see her character grow throughout。 Only because once one door closes another one will open。 Just because she musicals were never on her radar doesn't mean that they were never a possibility。 I liked how joining this changed her perspective on things and brought a new joy to her as well。 Heck， even Jude was a nice change of pace too。 In the end， I like how this talked about the deep dark stuff and then had a lighter side on other things。 It was a great balance throughout and I'm so glad that I got the chance to dive into this beautiful book。 I can't wait for the next one Mariko writes！ 。。。more

Leila Jaafari ，

A young woman’s journey of rediscovering herself after a dance injury。

Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens ，

An injured teenage ballerina falls in love while reexamining the cultural and racial context of her beloved art。 A love story with a refreshing focus on confronting systemic racism。 [from Kirkus Reviews]

Alejandra ，

This book is absolutely amazing。 As a ballet dancer who has been practicing almost my whole life the amount I was able to relate to in this book was outstanding。 Time and again I find books that reference ballet and they are always the same basic plot line。 But this book dove deeper into change and growth and it was beautiful。

Melanie ，

4。25 StarsI thought this book was very good and an enjoyable contemporary read。 Alina is a great character and goes through so much growth throughout the book， which I really loved。 I loved the side characters and the way they interacted with Alina and each other。 I quite enjoyed the plot， especially the musical part of it！ Really great book。Content WarningsGraphic: Bullying and GriefModerate: Racism

Samantha （WLABB） ，

People will grumble that Alina was difficult to like， but she was dealing with a profound loss。 Ballet was ingrained in her being， and she was untethered without it。 She was angry and jealous and making very emotional choices which were not always the best choices。 I appreciated her struggle。 Turk also had Alina take a hard look at the world of ballet， and how something she loved so much was also inherently biased and responsible for propagating racist stereotypes。 All of this was tied together People will grumble that Alina was difficult to like， but she was dealing with a profound loss。 Ballet was ingrained in her being， and she was untethered without it。 She was angry and jealous and making very emotional choices which were not always the best choices。 I appreciated her struggle。 Turk also had Alina take a hard look at the world of ballet， and how something she loved so much was also inherently biased and responsible for propagating racist stereotypes。 All of this was tied together with a sweet romance and friendships old and new。 I enjoyed being there with Alina as she closed the book on her past and forged ahead towards a new future。 BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS 。。。more

Chantal ，

This was pretty good for a debut novel， and I think it really shows how hard to let go something that meant your life。 It's not that any of ur characters have a diagnosed mental illness， but the author does a great job showing different ways of coping with pain。 I liked it。 It was a refreshing read and gotta admit that if a novel has dance， gymnastics or any kind of sport， i'm gonna be into it right away。 So I really enjoyed this one and loved what the author did with her first novel。 She also i This was pretty good for a debut novel， and I think it really shows how hard to let go something that meant your life。 It's not that any of ur characters have a diagnosed mental illness， but the author does a great job showing different ways of coping with pain。 I liked it。 It was a refreshing read and gotta admit that if a novel has dance， gymnastics or any kind of sport， i'm gonna be into it right away。 So I really enjoyed this one and loved what the author did with her first novel。 She also includes many racial topics that are truly necessary。 。。。more

Alicia ，

I have been loving the books with disability/mental health reps lately， and this was no exception。 Gritty and raw with grief and depression， without being too heavy。 It's a delicate balance， and this manages perfectly。 And Alina。 She's lost so much， and can't communicate with those around her so she lashes out and makes terrible decisions。 I was really rooting for her， and the supportive cast made it work。 I have been loving the books with disability/mental health reps lately， and this was no exception。 Gritty and raw with grief and depression， without being too heavy。 It's a delicate balance， and this manages perfectly。 And Alina。 She's lost so much， and can't communicate with those around her so she lashes out and makes terrible decisions。 I was really rooting for her， and the supportive cast made it work。 。。。more

Ruth ，

I liked a lot of aspects to this book （realism， the kids， theatre） but a few things just didn't click for me。 I liked a lot of aspects to this book （realism， the kids， theatre） but a few things just didn't click for me。 。。。more

Sarah ，

This was soooooo goooooood。 I didn’t realize the similarities it would have to the character in Take Me Home Tonight， so it’s a pure coincidence that I read them so close together。 Listen， I just love books about the magic of theatre and dance， okay？ ;-;

Natalie ，

3。5This was on the “new in” stand at the library and I snapped it up because of its gorgeous cover （I’m 100% superficial like that and I hate myself for it）。 It paid off though - it was a charming YA novel that tackled grief and racism in a nuanced way， with a sweet little love story 👌🏻👌🏻Alina is on her way to becoming a professional ballerina， but completely obliterates her leg in an accident and can no longer go en pointe。 Her entire life is tipped upside down and she doesn’t know how to handl 3。5This was on the “new in” stand at the library and I snapped it up because of its gorgeous cover （I’m 100% superficial like that and I hate myself for it）。 It paid off though - it was a charming YA novel that tackled grief and racism in a nuanced way， with a sweet little love story 👌🏻👌🏻Alina is on her way to becoming a professional ballerina， but completely obliterates her leg in an accident and can no longer go en pointe。 Her entire life is tipped upside down and she doesn’t know how to handle it。 She is grieving， angry and jealous。 She works out how to move forward through new pals she’s making doing her school’s musical。Things I liked:- Alina’s jealousy and anger lifted off the page - and she recognised when it was getting bad。 She was self aware and learning， which is just wonderful to see in YA- The love interest is GORGEOUS， and he KNITS， and ugh。 The scenes where they have to amp up their chemistry for the school musical？ 🥵🔥 （but with zero steam - impressive）。 Why weren’t these kinds of boys real when I was at high school？- Alina is Japanese-American and her character delves into some of the racist crap she has to experience。 She calls it out， along with other bullying she sees， and ooph it was inspiring！Things I didn’t like:- Sometimes the writing was powerful， but other times it tried to pack a punch and didn’t hit。 Regardless， I thought it was a charming debut- I think it’s really hard to strike a balance with YA sounding too old/too young， and it jumped around for me a bit here too- I would have liked to have seen some mention of treatment for depression- I could tell I was being taught “lessons” but I didn’t mind muchIn short: I’m probably not going to re-read it （hence lost stars）， but it was a really lovely debut YA novel。 I was charmed。 。。。more

TL ，

*via Overdrive app from library *Narrator: 4 stars 🌟Story/Characters: 4 stars 🌟Nenia has to quit reccing good books 📚 😜

Sean Burns ，

Enjoyed it！

Trigger Warning Database ，

Trigger & Content WarningsRacismSerious physical injuryBullying

Chlau ，

🤧❤

Ann Woodbury Moore ，

Japanese-American teen Alina is an amazingly talented ballet dancer--until a horrific accident ends her career。 Angry， depressed and out-of-sorts， she's befriended by Margot and other members of the high school drama club， tries out for a musical， and develops a crush on handsome Jude。 At the same time， Alina begins to realize how racist the classical ballet world is。 "The Other Side of Perfect" is so superbly written， one can overlook how annoying and self-centered Alina is。 Her parents should Japanese-American teen Alina is an amazingly talented ballet dancer--until a horrific accident ends her career。 Angry， depressed and out-of-sorts， she's befriended by Margot and other members of the high school drama club， tries out for a musical， and develops a crush on handsome Jude。 At the same time， Alina begins to realize how racist the classical ballet world is。 "The Other Side of Perfect" is so superbly written， one can overlook how annoying and self-centered Alina is。 Her parents should have hired a psychologist for her as well as a physical therapist。 She's appallingly mean to her younger sister and ignores her black dance buddy Colleen for months。 The other characters--and Alina's dawning self-realization that there is life after ballet， which wasn't so perfect after all--save the novel。 I particularly liked Jude， a multi-faceted guy coping with issues of his own related to his parents' divorce。 A few dangling plot lines remain at book's end， but overall this is a thought-provoking story with a lot of potential discussion points。 。。。more

beni ，

3。5

Fran ，

This is a pre-teen/teen book。 A high school student who was intent on studying ballet suddenly had an accident which changed her world forever。 In her transition from half day classes to full time student， Elena learns what it is like to be a high school student， witnessing all the preconceived notions， prejudices and friendships of students other than the ballet crowd。This book is a good study in diversity and prejudices on the high school level。 It also shows acceptances of others' values and This is a pre-teen/teen book。 A high school student who was intent on studying ballet suddenly had an accident which changed her world forever。 In her transition from half day classes to full time student， Elena learns what it is like to be a high school student， witnessing all the preconceived notions， prejudices and friendships of students other than the ballet crowd。This book is a good study in diversity and prejudices on the high school level。 It also shows acceptances of others' values and the differences among different cultures and how sometimes breaking traditions can mean freedom for those held down by old stereotypes。Teens can learn from the lessons in this book。 。。。more

John Clark ，

There are times in the middle of this book where I wanted to close it and move on because Alina was so mired in self pity and self-loathing。 I very glad I read on because she redeems herself in spades by the end of the book， making amends with all the people she hurt or shut out of her life。 In fact， those are done so well that you can't help but cheer for her and what her future will bring。 When she and Colleen confront her old ballet teacher， it's a shining moment。 Her journey reminds me of so There are times in the middle of this book where I wanted to close it and move on because Alina was so mired in self pity and self-loathing。 I very glad I read on because she redeems herself in spades by the end of the book， making amends with all the people she hurt or shut out of her life。 In fact， those are done so well that you can't help but cheer for her and what her future will bring。 When she and Colleen confront her old ballet teacher， it's a shining moment。 Her journey reminds me of something I heard many years ago at an AA meeting that fits Alina's journey perfectly。 An old timer said: "I have good news and bad news。 The bad news is you grew up with lousy tapes。 The good news is that your tape player isn't broken， so you can record healthier ones。" 。。。more

Steph💕 ，

3。5 stars。This was a nice contemporary novel， and I liked the ballet theme as an ex dancer myself。 Alina was really hard to like at first because she was so unnecessarily rude and bitchy， but she has a lot of growth which was good。 And it is kinda understandable why she acted that way， not that it excuses her behaviour。 I liked Jude， he was an interesting， loveable character。 The ending was a bit abrupt for me， I wanted to see more of the musical and maybe some hints as to what came after but it 3。5 stars。This was a nice contemporary novel， and I liked the ballet theme as an ex dancer myself。 Alina was really hard to like at first because she was so unnecessarily rude and bitchy， but she has a lot of growth which was good。 And it is kinda understandable why she acted that way， not that it excuses her behaviour。 I liked Jude， he was an interesting， loveable character。 The ending was a bit abrupt for me， I wanted to see more of the musical and maybe some hints as to what came after but it just kinda ended suddenly。 。。。more

Michelle Hawley ，

3。5 stars

Kirsten’s Korner ，

Plot 5Execution 4Characters 4Setting 3Entertainment 5 Writing 3Overall: 4

Alyssa ，

3。5

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Other Side of Perfect

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Other Side of Perfect&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Other Side of Perfect&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0