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This won the American Indian Youth Literature Award. This is a book about a young ballet dancer who tore her ACL and wasn‘t able to dance anymore. Because of the injury, she lost two of her closest friends. Her family decides to take a hiking trip during the winter where she learns more about where she came from. She becomes more in tune with her emotions and faces things she has been avoiding. She also reconnects with family.

Heartwarming | Middle-grade | Tender. 📖 1-1-22
About a Makah girl in the Pacific Northwest who is struggling to find her joy again after a ballet injury to her knee.
Inscribed “To anyone who needs a reminder that pain is temporary” 💗

A beautiful story of physical challenges, anxiety, depression, and grief. A story about Indigenous characters concerned with land rights. The family members are portrayed as loving and complex. The only issue I have with the story is the very fragmented nature of the story.

I picked this book up SO LONG AGO and I just finished it now. It's not that it was a bad read but it was meh, a short #middlegrade #kidsbook about learning to create new goals in life after tragedies. Very family oriented and I adored Conner, Maisie's (the MC) younger brother! She was kind of annoying but I was understanding. It had potential in family history but that wasn't touched on to the degree I wanted 🥲

I've injured my knee a few times so reading about a young teen who's ballet dreams are on pause because of a knee injury was tough, but this book was wonderful in how it looked at how we take the stories we've been told and rely on them when it looks like the plans we made might not work out. Excellent portrayal of tight family dynamics on a road trip too.

This quiet middle grade novel about letting go of unattainable dreams has many strengths, including a realistic portrayal of a contemporary Indigenous family in Seattle, and a fierce but sad central character who is passionate about ballet. I‘m glad the author chose ballet over traditional dance, because it sidesteps stereotypes. The dedication at the front is perfect: “To anyone who needs a reminder that pain is temporary.”

Utterly gorgeous book about a young injured dancer grieving.