I have been a longtime fan of Tammy Greenwood's novels, so when I saw that she was writing a book revolving around the world of ballet, I was excited because I know that Greenwood has a personal connection to the world of dance through her own talented daughter. Although The Still Point is not autobiographical, snippets of Greenwood's real life are threaded through the pages of this compelling story.

The Still Point is a Dance Moms-esque novel of the elite ballet variety. The story follows three moms - Ever, Lindsay, & Josie - and their respective daughters - Bea, Olive, & Savvy. The girls used to be friends, but after a regrettable incident over the summer, Bea finds herself on the outside of the group. To make matters worse, tensions rise when French ballet master Etienne Bernay shows up on the scene. Etienne is spending the season at their California school, where he will direct the Nutcracker and select one very fortunate student to receive a scholarship to the Ballet de Paris Academie.

Everyone wants the scholarship, but only one student will get it. As the dancers find themselves pitted against each other in a ballet battle of the ages, and the moms attempt to pull strings to place their daughters in favor, long-time trust and relationships are pushed to the wayside in the name of being crowned the best. The stakes are high & the claws are out as the girls dance like their lives depend on it. But who will come out on top and what will be destroyed along the way?

I am always in the mood for a good ballet book, so I quite enjoyed The Still Point, which being told primarily from the POV of the moms, was a different take on dance for me. The Still Point is a book with heart mixed with underhandedness and scandal. It is about the love of a mother for child, and the lengths we, as humans, go to to protect our own.