Jillian on Her Toes

Ballet School #2

by Emily Costello

The new kid in class...

Jillian Kormach wants new friends more than anything. She recently moved from exciting New York City to small-town Glory - something she tells everyone. In the big city, she studied classical dance at the fancy School of American Ballet. But now Jillian takes classes at Madame Trikilova's local ballet school. The more Jillian talks about her old, world-famous school, the more the girls in her new class ignore her. No one wants to be her friend.

Then Jillian brags that she's already taken pointe classes - every young dancer's dream. And that she can even pirouette on toe. It's a big lie, but suddenly all the girls start to pay attention to her. Now Jillian must get her hands on toe shoes - and deliver on her boast!

Genres: Middle Grade

133 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Granted, Jillian has had a big upheaval in her family, but reading this as an adult, her behavior is pretty awful. Thankfully the book addresses at least some of the issues.

[Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the Ballet School book series! I think it helped that I was taking ballet lessons at that time as well.

Jillian has just moved to the area with her family. She is used to her old life, friends, and most importantly, her old dance class. Jillian does not feel challenged in her new class and is still having trouble making friends.

All Jillian can seem to talk about is the way that her life used to be. When the other girls see Jillian as a braggart, trouble ensues. Will Jillian ever be able to fit in?

This book was just as delightful of a read as the first book. I would recommend it to young readers, especially those that are enrolled in a dance class as they will be able to relate to the situations.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this one may have been my least favorite in the series only because it was so sad. Jillian was the new girl in town having just moved from New York City. When she told the girls in her new ballet class that she had studied at a famous dance studio in NYC they weren't impressed with her dance skills and she made up a lie that she could dance pointe. So the rest of the book is her practicing at home so she could show everyone...anyways it was kinda sad. STILL I LOVED this series in elementary school!