Dance With Me: Couples, No 17

HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW






Book: Dance With Me: Couples, No 17



Author: M.E. Cooper



Publisher: Scholastic, 1986



ISBN-13:  978-0590402408 Paperback



ISBN-10:  0590402404 Paperback



Language level:  1



(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)



Recommended reading level: Ages 13 and up



Rating: **** 4 stars



(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)



Category:  Teen romance



Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker



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     Cooper, M.E. Dance With Me: Couples, No 17 (Published in 1986 by Scholastic Inc., 730 Broadway, New York City, NY  10003).  Fiona Stone has been a dance student at the Kingmont Ballet Academy in England get into London’s prestigious National Ballet. So she joins the rest of her family in the United States, where her father is a cultural attaché with the British Embassy in Washington, DC, and she becomes a sophomore student at Kennedy High School in suburban Rose Hill, MD, which her older brother Jeremy also attends. It seems that nothing will cheer up Fiona, so Jeremy sets her up on a blind date with gorgeous, laid-back Jonathon Preston.  But sparks fly as Fiona thinks Jonathon is not serious enough for her, while Jonathon thinks Fiona is too uptight.  Fiona has decided to give up dancing but is talked into choreographing a school production of the musical Oklahoma!  



      How does Fiona’s perfectionism affect her relationship with the other students?   When she and Jonathan are apart, why is it that each other is all that they think about?  Will the sparks settle long enough for them to realize they are perfect partners after all?  Some Bible believing families have strong moral convictions against all forms of dancing, so they would want to avoid this book.  The plot contains common elements of worldly teenage romance, such as dating, kissing, going steady, falling in love, and breaking up.  It is said on one occasion that first “Fiona cursed under her breath” and then “Fiona cursed out loud this time,” but no actual curse words are used.  Fiona’s attitude becomes rather snotty for a while, but she learns some important lessons about how to get along with others.  For a modern teenage romance story, the book is not too bad.