The Still Point

Description

Dance Moms meets Little Fires Everywhere in award winning author Tammy Greenwood’s addictive new novel set in the hyper cutthroat world of ballet girls and their mothers as they compete for a prestigious prize…

“The Still Point is a must-read full of love, hope, desire and jealousy – a vivid, compelling and deeply nuanced look at a place where lives are forever shaped and changed.” –Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Just the Nicest Couple

“She had never seen Bea dance like this. Ever sat spellbound as her daughter grew from a little girl into a woman before her eyes…”

Ever, Lindsay, and Josie have ushered their daughters—Bea, Olive, and Savvy—through years of dance classes in their coastal California town. They’ve tended bloodied feet, stitched ribbons to countless pairs of pointe shoes, and in the process, forged friendships that seem to transcend rivalry.

But now Etienne Bernay, enfant terrible of French ballet, has come to their conservatory. Not only will he direct this year’s production of The Nutcracker, but he’s brought along a film crew to document his search for one special student who will receive a full scholarship to the Ballet de Paris Academie. For the girls, this is the chance to fulfill lifelong dreams. For Ever, recently widowed and struggling financially, it may be the only way to keep Bea dancing. And Bea is a truly gifted dancer—poetic and ethereal, breathtaking to watch.

Lindsay, meanwhile, frets that Olive is growing tired of the punishing reality of training, while Josie has no such qualms about Savvy, who is a powerhouse of ambition.

From auditions to casting to rehearsals, the cameras capture the selection process, with its backstabbing and jealousy, disappointment and triumph. But it’s behind the scenes that Bernay’s arrival will yield the most shocking revelations, exposing the secrets and lies at the heart of all three families—and the sacrifices women make for their children, for friendship, and for art.

“By focusing on the moms as much as the aspiring dancers, Tammy Greenwood gives the ballet novel a brilliant twist– uncovering new layers of drama, ambition and humanity.” – Alice Robb, acclaimed author of Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet

“Instantly transports you to the cutthroat, brutally competitive, and beautiful world of ballet in this richly-detailed, expertly-plotted, absorbing tale of friendship, motherhood, passion, and dreams, found, lost, and found again.” –  Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest

“Fans of Dance Moms and Megan Abbott will love this literary take on the competitive world of elite ballet training. With Tammy Greenwood’s firsthand knowledge of the subject, precise writing and well-drawn characters, The Still Point is an authentic and eloquent rumination on the ways that love—in all its forms—shapes our lives. Parental hopes, marital bonds, youthful passions: What does commitment mean in a life filled with inevitable changes?” –  Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth and WonderlandPraise for THE STILL POINT

“A sensitive and deeply felt love letter to the joys—and struggles—of raising a dancer. Authentic and propulsive.” —Meg Howrey, author of They’re Going to Love You and The Cranes Dance

“Ballet moms–the women behind the scenes of every dance school, sewing costumes, buying pointe shoes, organizing carpools–are often caricatured, maligned, misunderstood. By focusing on the moms as much as the aspiring dancers, Tammy Greenwood gives the ballet novel a brilliant twist– uncovering new layers of drama, ambition and humanity.” – Alice Robb, acclaimed author of Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet

“Fans of Dance Moms and Megan Abbott will love this literary take on the competitive world of elite ballet training. With Tammy Greenwood’s firsthand knowledge of the subject, precise writing and well-drawn characters, The Still Point is an authentic and eloquent rumination on the ways that love—in all its forms—shapes our lives. Parental hopes, marital bonds, youthful passions: What does commitment mean in a life filled with inevitable changes?” —Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth and Wonderland  

“A gifted storyteller, Tammy Greenwood instantly transports you to the cutthroat, brutally competitive, and beautiful world of ballet in this richly-detailed, expertly-plotted, absorbing tale of friendship, motherhood, passion, and dreams, found, lost, and found again.” —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest

“With her meticulous writing and true-to-life characters, Tammy Greenwood takes readers on an intimate journey into the exclusive world of pre-professional ballet and the many lives affected by it. The Still Point is a must-read full of love, hope, desire and jealousy – a vivid, compelling and deeply nuanced look at a place where lives are forever shaped and changed.” —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Just the Nicest Couple

Praise for Tammy Greenwood

“Magnetic…This knotty story leaves readers reflecting on the limits of family obligations.” —Publishers Weekly on Such A Pretty Girl

“Wrenching…Beauty and tragedy at the same time, darkness then light—those are Greenwood hallmarks…she’s terrific with characters, with the multiple textures that make someone seem human on the page.” —The San Diego Union Tribune on Bodies of Water

“A thoughtfully rendered version of Sally, whose ordeal is shown for the proper horror that it was.” —Vanity Fair on Rust & Stardust

“A beautifully written, unnerving tragedy woven from equal measures of hope and menace.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW on Rust & Stardust

”Greenwood’s heart-wrenching, emotional roller coaster of a read also seamlessly captures the transformation of women’s roles in the early 1970s. A heartfelt tale of true friendship, a mother’s unstoppable love, and the immeasurable fortitude of women.” —Booklist on Keeping Lucy

“Greenwood is a writer of subtle strength, evoking small-town life beautifully while spreading out the map of Harper’s life, finding light in the darkest of stories.” —Publishers Weekly on Two Rivers

“Part family drama, part literary mystery and filled with beautiful, hypnotic prose.” —Bookpage on Where I Lost Her

”Greenwood is an assured guide through this strange territory; she has a lush, evocative style.” —The New York Times Book Review on Nearer Than the Sky

“Greenwood’s sixth novel, a tale of love and loyalty, owes its success to the poetic prose, as well as the compelling chronology she employs…This compassionate, insightful look at hope and redemption is a richly textured portrait. This gem of a story is a good choice for those who enjoy family novels.” —Library Journal on Bodies of Water

”A complex and compelling portrait of the painful intricacies of love and loyalty. Book clubs will find much to discuss in Tammy Greenwood’s insightful story of two women caught between their hearts and their families.” —Eleanor Brown, New York Times bestselling author of The Weird Sisters on Bodies of Water

“The love story that plays out between the two women–at times tragic, at times beautiful–is rightly taboo for the early-60’s setting.” —San Diego Reader on Bodies of Water

“I was captivated from the very first line…Greenwood’s moving story of love and loss, hope and redemption has stayed with me, long after I turned the last page.” —Jillian Cantor, author of Margot on Bodies of Water

“Stark, taut, and superbly written, this dark tale brims with glimpses of the Southwest and scenes of violence, gruesome but not gratuitous. This haunting look at a fractured family is certain to please readers of literary suspense.” —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW for This Glittering WorldTammy Greenwood is an acclaimed author as well as the mother of a professional ballerina. A four-time winner of the San Diego Book Award whose novels have been translated into five languages, she has received grants from the Sherwood Anderson Foundation, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Six of her novels have been Indie Next Picks and her twelfth novel, Rust & Stardust, was a LibraryReads selection. She and her family split their time between Vermont and San Diego, California, where she teaches creative writing for The Writer’s Center and San Diego Writers, Ink. She can be found online at TammyGreenwood.com.US

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