TURNING

After falling from a roof, a talented ballerina adjusts to paraplegia.

Genie was supposed to take the ballet world by storm with her Black Girl Magic. But now, life is anything but magical. Physical therapy is grueling, her apartment isn’t wheelchair accessible, and her relationships with family and friends are fraying. Her mother, a recovering alcoholic and former teen mom, is overbearing; she is estranged from her abusive father. Genie avoids her closest friends, Hannah and Maya, who’ve grown closer to one another in her absence. Her volatile ex-boyfriend, Nolan, is threatening to tell her mother about her abortion if she doesn’t give him another chance…and she hasn’t told anyone he deliberately let her fall that fateful night. As Genie confronts her new reality, debut author Smith thoughtfully explores tough issues, including family, identity, and discrimination in ballet. Genie’s voice realistically alternates between snarky and vulnerable as she mourns her dance career, endeavors to distinguish herself in a new way, and contends with physical issues such as loss of bladder control. The author sympathetically explores the conflicting emotions of navigating abusive relationships; importantly, Genie also firmly asserts her boundaries and self-worth. Genie’s friends dispense tough love, and a tender relationship with Kyle, a fellow physical therapy patient who suffered a traumatic brain injury, provides a sweet, necessary contrast to Nolan’s controlling behavior. Most characters are people of color.

A nuanced portrayal of disability, dance, and starting over.