When high school junior Sara wins a coveted scholarship to study ballet, she must sacrifice everything for her new life as a professional dancer-in...
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Oct 23, 2011
Jasprit
rated it: 
(4.5 stars)
“Am I lonelier now
Than when my sad imagination
Had him disappear?
Heart torn,
Loosing tiny droplets
Of sorrow
No tape can measure
No needle can mend.”
I was ecstatic when I found out my library had a copy of Audition, as it was one of my highly anticipated books of the year. The greatest surprise was my library having a copy four days after its release date!! I wasted no time in downloading my copy (yes my great library does f More...
“Am I lonelier now
Than when my sad imagination
Had him disappear?
Heart torn,
Loosing tiny droplets
Of sorrow
No tape can measure
No needle can mend.”
I was ecstatic when I found out my library had a copy of Audition, as it was one of my highly anticipated books of the year. The greatest surprise was my library having a copy four days after its release date!! I wasted no time in downloading my copy (yes my great library does f More...
11 comments
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Jan 08, 2012
Kathryn
rated it: 
Summary: Sara wins a coveted scholarship to a moderately impressive dance school in NJ. She must leave behind her friends and family her junior year of high school to follow her dream.
Why I Read This Book: I'm not sure. I think that I was having dinner one night before a presentation and wanted to read something, so I browsed through the available YA eBooks and choose this one because I love ballerinas (and gymnasts and ice skaters).
Review: It was a fairly mediocre book. It w More...
Why I Read This Book: I'm not sure. I think that I was having dinner one night before a presentation and wanted to read something, so I browsed through the available YA eBooks and choose this one because I love ballerinas (and gymnasts and ice skaters).
Review: It was a fairly mediocre book. It w More...
Dec 02, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
Sixteen year old Sara has spent her life preparing to be a dancer. So when she wins a scholarship to a ballet school, it seems like her dreams are right on track. And then there's Remington, the gorgeous dancer in his twenties. Caught up in an affair where she's part girlfriend, part muse - but never a ballerina - Sara begins to stumble. Working out her confusion in her school writing assignments, Sara discovers a new talent, and begins to realize that there just may be another, better dr
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Nov 06, 2011
ALPHAreader
rated it:
At sixteen, Sara is living many ballerinas’ dreams. She has been given a scholarship to study at a prestigious dance academy in the big city. But following your dreams is harder than it seems . . . Sara is in constant competition with her dance peers. Training is a gruelling affair and the weight of success rests heavy on her shoulders – when she thinks of all those who are so sure she will excel.
The more Sara dances, the more she wonders if she even enjoys going through the motions More...
The more Sara dances, the more she wonders if she even enjoys going through the motions More...
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Oct 30, 2011
After a terrifying audition, Sara wins a scholarship to the Jersey Ballet for a year. Though it’s not the most prestigious of the ballet schools, it’s certainly a step up for a dancer from a tiny school in Vermont. Sara moves away from her family and friends to live with one of the school’s teachers, attend a private high school, and then attend grueling hours of dance classes, tours, and performances.
The dance world is extremely competitive. Sara is filled with self doubt, unsure wh More...
The dance world is extremely competitive. Sara is filled with self doubt, unsure wh More...
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Jan 30, 2012
Sarah
rated it:
I don't read a lot of novels in verse, nor do I read a lot about dance. The former is more because I don't really know how to sift through the good stuff and the bad stuff, the latter because dance (especially ballet) kind of freaks me out--the body obsessive, intense grind of it is extremely disturbing to me. However, despite my reluctance with both of these elements, Audition was a fantastic read.
Lots of interesting themes are tackled in this one:
-Fish out of water, rural gi More...
Lots of interesting themes are tackled in this one:
-Fish out of water, rural gi More...
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Oct 30, 2011
Nomes
rated it:
Audition is Stasia Ward Kehoe's highly anticipated YA verse novel debut.
At sixteen years, Sara leaves her friends and family, moves away on a scholarship to a prestigious dance school. Sara feels lost amongst her peers, who too often are pitched against one another competitively to form true friendship. Dancing is a constant discipline in which dancers strive for perfection with their routines and in their bodies. It is not an easy burden to bear, and you can feel the shackles and More...
At sixteen years, Sara leaves her friends and family, moves away on a scholarship to a prestigious dance school. Sara feels lost amongst her peers, who too often are pitched against one another competitively to form true friendship. Dancing is a constant discipline in which dancers strive for perfection with their routines and in their bodies. It is not an easy burden to bear, and you can feel the shackles and More...
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(11 people liked it)
Dec 02, 2011
Missy (Missy's Reads & Reviews)
rated it: 
This is the second book in my entire history of reading that was written in free verse, unless you count actual books of poetry - which I don't. For one, the books of poetry were always for school and absolutely bored me to death.. not like this book at all. Something else that has absolutely bored me to death all of my life is dance.. which is not like this book at all. If you know me in real life, then you're probably cracking up at my last statement of hate toward dance.. considering my husba
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Sep 30, 2011
April
rated it:
Originally reviewed here
It’s offical. I love books written in free verse. I love how these books play with form and how the sparseness can sometimes hit me harder than prose. Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe is awesome, plus it’s nice to read a free verse book that’s not about the dangerous world of drugs.
So, I think those of you who know me already know I find dance boring IRL, but love reading about it. Y’all Audition just feeds that addiction. Sara is a 16 year old baller More...
It’s offical. I love books written in free verse. I love how these books play with form and how the sparseness can sometimes hit me harder than prose. Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe is awesome, plus it’s nice to read a free verse book that’s not about the dangerous world of drugs.
So, I think those of you who know me already know I find dance boring IRL, but love reading about it. Y’all Audition just feeds that addiction. Sara is a 16 year old baller More...
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Jan 14, 2012
Somer
rated it:
I love verse novels! I never thought I would like them because I thought they would be like hard to understand poetry, but they are so not! This novel, like other verse novels, was like reading a song. It flows effortlessly along, and before you know it, its over. The author chooses powerful words, because there are so few words used.
The fact that Audition was a verse novel made me like the book. I did, however, have a few issues with the characters. Sara was the main character More...
The fact that Audition was a verse novel made me like the book. I did, however, have a few issues with the characters. Sara was the main character More...
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Dec 06, 2011
Anncleire
rated it:
“Dare I tell them that since I came here to dance
I have been giving pieces of my body away
To ridiculous diets,
To repeated injuries,
To Remington?
And that maybe I think With each bit of my body
I lose a little piece of my soul”
Ho deciso di leggere “Audition” dopo essermi innamorata della copertina, period. Mi capita spessissimo, il problema è che non sempre poi il libro è all’altezza dei miei gusti.
Sara ci racconta il suo junio More...
I have been giving pieces of my body away
To ridiculous diets,
To repeated injuries,
To Remington?
And that maybe I think With each bit of my body
I lose a little piece of my soul”
Ho deciso di leggere “Audition” dopo essermi innamorata della copertina, period. Mi capita spessissimo, il problema è che non sempre poi il libro è all’altezza dei miei gusti.
Sara ci racconta il suo junio More...
Jan 03, 2012
Luu
rated it:
Och, toto bolo krásne. Je to kniha vo veršoch, a rozpráva o dievčati, ktoré odíde na tanečné konzervatórium ďaleko od domova, o jej smútku za rodinou, o porovnávaní sa s ostatnými tanečnicami, o pocitoch pri tancovaní, a o láske ku jednému z inštruktorov, ktorá dostane nečakaný nádych.
...a páčilo sa mi, ako to bolo napísané. Nič viac sa asi o veršovanej knihe povedať nedá :) Niektoré pasáže sú naozaj precítené, autorkin štýl je veľmi jednoduchý, ale pritom zaujímavý, a mňa to bavilo :) More...
...a páčilo sa mi, ako to bolo napísané. Nič viac sa asi o veršovanej knihe povedať nedá :) Niektoré pasáže sú naozaj precítené, autorkin štýl je veľmi jednoduchý, ale pritom zaujímavý, a mňa to bavilo :) More...
Jan 26, 2012
Chantal
rated it:
this was a very intersting book. u like most books it more tell in a verse form like a poem. it was a very easy read. I i really did like was the relation ship that she had with Rem...it seem the hole time that he was only using her to make is dance. She inspired him but i dont think that he should have taken so much of her and she should have given her self away so soon. Then again she was so longing to get to second base with a guy so that only seems more likely it would happen. The book start
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Nov 08, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
All her life, Sara has wanted to be a dancer. When she wins a ballet scholarship her junior year, she’s ecstatic because finally she’s on her way to making her dreams come true. And then a dancer/choreographer (Remington) starts to pay attention to her, and WOW. And even though he’s in his early twenties, she doesn’t care. Everything’s great…except that she’s not getting great roles and she doesn’t feel like she fits in at the dance studio or at the incredibly hard prep school she’s attendin
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Sep 16, 2011
Ashley
rated it:
Not sure how to rate this one yet. It might stay a 4, although I'd probably give it 3.5 if I could. I haven't completely decided if I think the verse worked for me. There were parts to the story I didn't love, that weren't really given the attention or word count that I felt they really needed to be fully developed and there were some things I found to be inconsistent. Perhaps that's just a problem due to the fact that I read an ARC. Overall, I did enjoy the book, but perhaps it would have been
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Feb 15, 2012
Angieleigh
rated it: 
Overall I didn't much care for this book. I think that's because it was written in verse, which made it hard for me to understand a lot of the story.
Sarah grew up in Darby Station, Vermont, an only child who was prodded into becoming a ballerina. When she's offered a scholarship to a no-name school in New Jersey, she realizes that she wasn't so special after all. While there she meets and falls for Remington, a choreographer. The whole...book is about their "relationship" an More...
Sarah grew up in Darby Station, Vermont, an only child who was prodded into becoming a ballerina. When she's offered a scholarship to a no-name school in New Jersey, she realizes that she wasn't so special after all. While there she meets and falls for Remington, a choreographer. The whole...book is about their "relationship" an More...
Jan 21, 2012
Jen
rated it:
I love all things dance, whether it's ballet, tap, hip-hop...if it's trippin the light fantastic then I love it but this story wasn't what I was expecting.
I thought the writing was beautiful and poetic in style but the story itself left me feeling sad and kind of depressed. It's hard when you follow a dream only to find out it's not at all what you expected or that you are not as good as you need to be in order to be the star. Sara was never going to be the prima ballerina that Lis More...
I thought the writing was beautiful and poetic in style but the story itself left me feeling sad and kind of depressed. It's hard when you follow a dream only to find out it's not at all what you expected or that you are not as good as you need to be in order to be the star. Sara was never going to be the prima ballerina that Lis More...
Jan 05, 2012
I usually do my own summaries, but it's a little harder with verse books. This is the third verse book I've read. I wanted to really like it, but I only that it was meh. Sarah and Remington should have known better to get involved with each other. She's only sixteen and mentions that she thinks he's about twenty-two. I didn't think Sarah was that likeable of a character, but I could somewhat see where she was coming from. I felt like she wanted to be validated and thought that dancing did
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Dec 01, 2011
Gretchen
rated it:
I first heard about AUDITION when Stasia and I toured together with Stages on Pages. After listening to Stasia speak so eloquently and passionately about dance (she's been a dancer since about the time she learned how to walk) I knew I needed to read this novel.
Still, I'm not going to lie: reading a novel in verse kind of scared the hell out of me.
But I was surprised. After about four of five pages, my brain had adapted to the style and the cadence of the verse (kind of l More...
Still, I'm not going to lie: reading a novel in verse kind of scared the hell out of me.
But I was surprised. After about four of five pages, my brain had adapted to the style and the cadence of the verse (kind of l More...
Dec 17, 2011
Mary
rated it:
Poem is not my things. Still I can't put down this book coz the story underneat is very interesting and seems so real.
Through her poems Stasia describes a story of a girl who discovered herself in her significant period of life.
Sara likes ballet and she has been dancing since toddler. She's a great dancer, everybody also thought she is, but can she compete with girls in bigger city who has been practiced since they could walk? And does she really want to dance for her More...
Jan 13, 2012
Kat
rated it:
I was pretty surprised when I opened this book on my Kindle to find that it was written in verse. Now I've seen books written in verse before, but I never really thought about actually reading one. Having read this, I'm pretty amazed at how Kehoe can say so much using so little words. I mean, this book practically gives you the bare minimum in words, yet Sara's feelings and thoughts are still projected clearly to the reader.
Sara was a relatable character. The whole time she was doubt More...
Sara was a relatable character. The whole time she was doubt More...
Jan 03, 2012
Heather
rated it: 
There are so many things that I am not okay with about this book. The whole thing was about a 22 year old male and a 16 year old dancer having a regular and lengthy sexual relationship with no consequences. Not only is that illegal, but there wasn't any closure to the fact that the she is essentially being used the entire time. Does anyone else think it is creepy that Rem peeps on Sara while she is changing? I know teen/ adult liasons happen in the real world, but not okay! Add the fact that she
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Nov 24, 2011
Jac
rated it:
Let me start by saying that I am completely blown away by this book. I have never read a book (aside from poetry specific books) in prose, and I absolutely adored it!
We start with Sara, a sixteen year old girl who is auditioning for a spot in a ballet school. She is accepted and moves hours away from home to live in a strange home and study in a new studio. Her naivety is sweet, and I can't help but see myself in her. At sixteen, thinking I was grown up and then getting smacke More...
We start with Sara, a sixteen year old girl who is auditioning for a spot in a ballet school. She is accepted and moves hours away from home to live in a strange home and study in a new studio. Her naivety is sweet, and I can't help but see myself in her. At sixteen, thinking I was grown up and then getting smacke More...
Nov 30, 2011
Lucy
rated it:
Sara leaves small town life behind when she earns a scholarship to study dance with an exclusive company in the city. Now living in a host family’s home, she has to re-learn all she knew about ballet as she enters this new competitive world. She begins an addictive relationship with Remington, an older aspiring choreographer looking for a muse. But Rem inspires Sara as well to question her own path. Being a dancer is all Sara has ever known, but as her dreams become reality she starts to see a n
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Nov 14, 2011
Sabrina
rated it:
When sixteen year old Sara wins a scholarship to attend a good ballet school her parents and she are excited. But Sara's new life doesn't turn out to be so exciting and great. She has to move to a foreign city without her parents, her days are filled with school and then endless hours with doing ballet and trying to get better. Sara starts to wonder if she is really doing what is best for her. And she starts to feel lonely and lost. And even the relationship to 22 year old ballet dancer and chor
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Dec 19, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
In bed at night
When I can’t sleep,
I think of Rodya dreaming of horses,
Sonya’s pale face,
The misdirected loves of the Bennet sisters.
Wish my life were inside a book
So I could turn to the ending,
See if it is a love story
Or a gothic disaster.
“Audition” is only the second novel told in verse that I’ve read, although I doubt it’ll be my last. The story is about Sara, a high school junior, who receives a scholarship to study dance at More...
When I can’t sleep,
I think of Rodya dreaming of horses,
Sonya’s pale face,
The misdirected loves of the Bennet sisters.
Wish my life were inside a book
So I could turn to the ending,
See if it is a love story
Or a gothic disaster.
“Audition” is only the second novel told in verse that I’ve read, although I doubt it’ll be my last. The story is about Sara, a high school junior, who receives a scholarship to study dance at More...
Oct 26, 2011
Candace
rated it:
This review was first posted on my blog at http://www.candacesbookblog.com
I'm a big fan of verse novels but I think it takes a perfect balance and use of words to make the style work to where you can really feel the story. Because you're only getting the meat of the story and no extra detail the words used are incredibly important. And I think Stasia picked a perfect subject to write about. Her words were like a dance themselves. The whole time I was reading I was thinking th More...
Oct 01, 2011
Kelsey
rated it:
Verse novels hold a special place in my heart and I think Audition was a perfect match for the verse format. Stasia Ward Kehoe’s young adult debut was inspiring and intense, and I had a hard time setting it down once I got into it. The writing style made it a very quick read and after the slow start, I was soon immersed in this poignant tale of love and ballet. Audition was more than a book about a ballet dancer- there were so many sub-plots that combined to make this a refreshing and unique sto
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Nov 25, 2011
Paige
rated it:
Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.
The scholarship to Jersey Ballet so she can become a better ballerina is supposed to be a dream come true for small-town Vermont girl Sara, but it's not turning out to be so wonderful. The other ballerinas with their sleek techniques and perfect movement make her feel inadequate and it isn't easy to juggle schoolwork with all the hours spent practicing at the studio. Miles away from her friends and family, her only comfort is her illicit relati More...
The scholarship to Jersey Ballet so she can become a better ballerina is supposed to be a dream come true for small-town Vermont girl Sara, but it's not turning out to be so wonderful. The other ballerinas with their sleek techniques and perfect movement make her feel inadequate and it isn't easy to juggle schoolwork with all the hours spent practicing at the studio. Miles away from her friends and family, her only comfort is her illicit relati More...
