SAMANTHA ON STAGE

by Susan Clement Farrar ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 31, 1979

Farrar begins with a hard-to-swallow situation: into Samantha's suburban (Connecticut) ballet class, which meets once a week after school, comes an eleven-year-old Russian diplomat's daughter who has been studying full-time at the Bolshoi for years. And Farrar ends with a manipulated solution to a standard dilemma: Sam, previously the best ballet student in her class, is disappointed but accepting when Lizinka is chosen to play Clara in the Nutcracker; then Lizinka hurts her ankle after the first performance and Samantha gets to take her place in the second. In between, the girls become friends and Sam gets a taste of Russian foods and culture, while readers with daydreams of dancing get plenty of rehearsal details and barre routines. The appeal is all in the tutus and the tours jet‚s; Farrar's writing style has no more finesse than her plotting.

Pub Date: May 31, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dial

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION