The Other Side of Perfect

Japanese American teenager Alina attends ballet school and dreams of being a professional ballerina but a shattered leg and extensive surgery derail those plans. She returns to high school full time and is drawn to the school’s musical theatre group where she makes new friends, begins a romantic relationship, and faces the racism she experienced at the ballet school, allowing her to heal and rebuild her identity. This engaging novel for grades 8-10, with its relatable characters, focuses on identity, resiliency, racism, ability/disability, and gender roles and is suitable for literature circles and cross-curricular opportunities between ELA and Dance courses.