I really enjoyed this memoir and found myself unable to put it down. Michaela's story reads as uplifting even at it's darkest and the only time I felt a bit teary was at the very end (and it was smiley tears). It's a quick and fast read that young dancers (and those who enjoy reading about dance) will find enjoyable and be inspired by. The second half of the book has quite a bit of ballet jargon that may confuse non-dancers (although it's easy enough to just imagine something beautiful). I as the mother of a tiny ballet dancer did not have enough knowledge to imagine many of the steps she spoke of (it would have been nice to have a glossary of ballet terms at the end). The prose is simple and very easy to read and there's a nice set of pictures in the middle to help connect the reader to Michaela.
Appropriateness: Michaela and her mother Elaine did a fantastic job writing about her early life in a way that young readers could handle without feeling that it was too traumatic. I would have no problem letting a fourth or fifth grader read this book and it's written in a way that would encourage kids to want to learn both about ballet and about war in Africa. I recommend this book for readers 10-16 (it's a bit simple for adult and older teen readers unless they're already invested in her story).
