Dancing in the Dark

Dancing in the Dark by Robyn Bavati is a beautiful coming of age story about Ditty, a girl who is raised in a very Orthodox Jewish household who wants nothing more than to dance. After asking her parents if she can take ballet and being told no due to her religion she takes matters into her own hands. Ditty lies to her parents and starts attending classes working to pay her tuition and supplies on her own. Will she be able to achieve her dream of being a dancer and if she does will her parents support her choices and how will she handle the constraints of her religion with the requirements of ballet?




This is a beautiful book that I could not put down. It starts when Ditty is just twelve and follows her till she is eighteen. She makes hard choices and decisions for herself about her life and her religion while keeping her family in the dark. I could not put this book down finding myself engrossed throughout. The author provides a nice note to readers about her experiences growing up as a Jewish dancer along with a note that Ditty's family is not meant to represent all Orthodox or Jewish families.


Appropriateness: There is no adult content in this book. Although Ditty does lie to her parents in order to fulfill her dreams she maintains respectful to their beliefs and the beliefs of others. I would recommend this book to readers 13+

 Review copy provided by netgalley