In this raw, searingly honest debut young adult novel, a former
aspiring ballerina must confront her past in order to move forward from
a devastating fall that leaves her without the use of her legs.
Genie used to fouetté across the stage. Now the only thing she's turning
are the wheels to her wheelchair. Genie was the star pupil at her
exclusive New York dance school, with a bright future and endless
possibilities before her. Now that the future she's spent years building
toward has been snatched away, she can't stand to be reminded of
it--even if it means isolating herself from her best friends and her
mother. The only wish this Genie has is to be left alone.
But then she meets Kyle, who also has a "used to be." Kyle used to
tumble and flip on a gymnastics mat, but a traumatic brain injury has
sent him to the same physical therapist that Genie sees. With Kyle's
support, along with her best friend's insistence that Genie's time at
the barre isn't over yet, Genie starts to see a new path--one where she
doesn't have to be alone and she finally has the strength to heal from
the past.
But healing also means confronting. Confronting the booze her mother, a
recovering alcoholic, has been hiding under the kitchen sink; the
ex-boyfriend who was there the night of the fall and won't leave her
alone; and Genie's biggest, most terrifying secret: the fact that the
accident may not have been so accidental after all.