Davida Hurwin

This is a sequel to Hurwin's brilliant "A Time For Dancing," which is my favorite book. When I finished reading "A Time For Dancing" when I was nine, I read the author blurb in the back of the book. It stated she was working on a sequel to "A Time For Dancing." This broke my heart since a sequel would surely be sad. I got my hands on the sequel when I was eleven. I remember being so impressed by it. All these years later, I bought "A Time For Dancing" again and it became my favorite book. I toyed with reading the sequel again. The first chapter was always so off-putting and the synopsis so annoying that I never read it. Finally I decided, if I can find it, I will read it and then I will know what I think. Thankfully, I was able to find it at Open Library. If you have an archive .org account, you can login to Open Library using that. So I did.

Mona increasingly horrified me. I was alternately appalled and just wanted her to shut up. I'm not saying people with parents of poorly-treated bipolar don't go through those things or develop senses of humor like that. I'm saying I disliked her as a character. She and Sam didn't seem like people who would be friends, either. Sam changed a lot as a person, which is to be expected. But she doesn't dance anymore. She doesn't hang out with people she used to. She's practically not the same at all. And for some reason, there's a subplot with a homeless lady. The boyfriends didn't make sense really. None of the original characters from the first novel are in here in a meaningful way. I hate to say it, but it's a poor spinoff with "blink and you miss it" references to the first book, with several original passages oddly rewritten. As in, they contain new information. "Blink and you miss it" references include but are not limited to: 1. the mugs Jules made in pottery class in seventh grade and how Sandra drinks out of them still, and so does Sammie 2.Sam reiterating that she feels closer to Sandra and William than her own parents 3. Bruce and Sam's mom are in love and ignoring Sam 4. A reference is made to castrating one of the girls' boyfriends 5. Jules being a water sign astrologically and talking to the ocean and

6. Jules dancing by the ocean. This was a beautiful passage in the first book. Here? Oh here, it turns out Sam was there too! For some reason, that annoyed me so, so much.
Davida Wills Hurwin retcons a lot of little stuff and it ticked me off. The magic of dance is not here at all. Instead, Sam now works in a restaurant. All new and boring characters are introduced. The sequel would have been far, far stronger if it had been all the same characters as the former! Only them talking about Julie and working through their grief! Thea is mentioned. Brooke is mentioned. Have them in the book! Have them -talk- about dance. But no, Sam blows them off because Mona calls them anorexic.
One of the final passages in the original book discussed seagulls. Here, it's briefly mentioned, but it's like Sam forgot what the seagulls originally symbolized. I lost respect for the book at that, I admit. Her grief is kind of skated over until eight months after the funeral, when she suddenly cannot stop crying. I can't speak to the reality of that. As a -written story-, though, it felt weird, especially since this occurred in the third quarter of the book. Before that, Sam was just dry-eyed and a waitress. She mentions avoiding places but I never really -got- the sense.

Mona should not have existed as a character in this book. She adds nothing. Her voice sounded exactly like Jules when she's irritated and it really creeped me out. If Davida Wills Hurwin was going for "so she is definitely replacing Jules and the audience should be sad," she failed because that's not the reaction it got out of me. Several characters mention that Mona looks like Jules. When I first read this as a tween, I thought that was so sad and touching. As an adult, something about this felt off..

7. Sam calls herself and Mona the Shithead and Asshole duo, which is again another reference to the first book twice over: towards the end of the first book, Jules and Sam call Dr Connor a shithead and an asshole. Halfway through the book when Jules won't come out of her room because she lost her hair and needs space, Sammie calls her a shithead and bangs on the door. Jules retorts by calling her an asshole and telling her to go away. In the sequel, the context is wildly different and DOES NOT WORK. I was annoyed!

This could have easily been a single-perspective POV on Sammie dealing with her grief in new ways, and others talking to her about it. She could have reached out to Linda, Brooke, Thea, definitely Sandra...they were not included because for whatever reason, the author wanted to introduce a grating, bitter teenager whose mother had a disease that's difficult to treat, especially back then. It was pointless. Sam could...idk, watch dance recitals on television and think of Jules and her past. Her emotions could have been explored more. The author chose not to do that.

Why the references to "Into the Woods"? Those came absolutely out of nowhere. Sam and Jules were not mentioned as liking stage theatre. They were dancers. I'm not saying it's impossible. There's tons of crossover between the two industries. It just wasn't addressed. Sam does sing a little bit of "A Chorus Line" in the first book when she's in the car with Jules and they're talking about dance that night at the beach, but that's it. The author could have worked that into the second book. The flashbacks of Jules working with a different dance instructor--fine, shove in a new character. Whatevs. And sure, have Sammie work with him at the end too. Or that could have been the halfway point of the book as an emotional arc! Coming back to dance!
Discovering who she is, and rediscovering parts as well! She could have worked at the studio as a receptionist and still talked to Linda, and seen little kids and remembered herself and Jules. But sure, waitressing is an option as well.

At least I read the sequel. Grumble.… (more)

While this review shows a 2020 read date, I bought it before then and read it often since.
SPOILERS. Sam, Jules, Jack, and Rachel all go to the same private arts academy for teens, I realized upon one of my many rereads. Sam and Jules are semi-professional ballet dancers and have been since they were young children. Jack and Rachel are successful visual artists. It's not mentioned if they've been exhibited or had their own gallery openings yet. Teens and kids can. Private arts academies are hyper-competitive and students must perform to certain standards every semester in order to stay. This is hinted at.
I first read this book when it came out in 1998. IIRC, my aunt got me it. I'm--not sure why she thought a book about dancing or cancer would be a good fit for me. I hadn't started in my own semi-professional youth musical career yet, so I didn't have the scant background paired with the adoration and deep respect of dance I have today. I've never had cancer, knock wood. So I'm left to think she knew how much I'd treasure a story about intense friendship, and she trusted I'd be smart enough to read this book so young. The girls in the book are sixteen. I was nine. I was way above the reading level of my age group, so she was right on both counts.

The cover, an elegant one of two stunning young women dancing on a beach in Northern California at sunrise, has had a strong impact on me. As an adult, I'm a sucker for book covers of sunrises on beaches. As a child, I didn't know about the concept of cover models, which is probably not what they're actually called. Models were often photographed for book covers. I'm not sure how widespread it is now, but it was common for a few decades. The young women dancing on the cover both look to be in their early-to-mid twenties, way older than Sam and Jules, yet I've imagined them to be one and the same when I read this. It's quite a spectacular cover. The paperback cover I got as a child had feathered pages, so the pages were difficult to turn and I thought something was wrong with the book. The hardback copy I got as an adult has regular pages and the wonderful pages. I'm so pleased. This is a dual POV book, with the girls' names ostensibly handwritten every chapter change. If you look closely at the tops of each page, the handwritten name motif continues, with a sun drawn near Sam's name, and a crescent moon drawn near Julie's. This is a fantastic and such a simple touch. It connects to the times Sam and Jules each refer to each other as Sun and Moon since they are the same in height and weight but totally different in complexion and hair texture. It's hinted several times that Jules isn't white, but Sammie is. This was profound for its time.

When I first reread this book as an adult, I gulped back tears and needed a hug. I was alone at the time and remember finishing the book at ten at night or something, so instead I put on headphones and listened to 90s songs--my childhood years--about death, and a few sad love songs and maybe one happy one. As always, I understood the book in wildly different ways as an adult, and the messages still so clearly resonated. They continue to.

Sam and Jules have been best friends since they were nine and danced together in a recital, this ending a brief animosity between the two due to the hyper-competition that comes with being a child performer. Now they are sixteen. Jules is trying to get over her asshole of an ex-boyfriend. Sam remains deeply affected by her father's horribly poor treatment of her after he cheated on her mother so he could become a dedicated husband and father to a new wife and baby. I hated those two whenever they were on the page. I do not care that they are probably cliches; I have seen real-life examples and considering how invested I am in Sam and Jules, of course I'm furious. Jack is such a passive-aggressive boy that he cheated on Jules with Rachel for awhile and lied skillfully about it. Now Jack and Rachel are inseparable and ugh. I sided with Sam when she said her bit in the car and every time she talked poorly. My language would be a lot louder and more pointed. Jack never again speaks directly to Jules, instead bothering Sam regularly to do it for him. He acts so wounded that she won't do it, and she calls him out regularly. He clearly hates confrontation, and I wouldn't be surprised if he whined about all the time Jules was spending with Sam before he cheated. And he acts like Sam and Jules are so cruel for not playing his childish games. Eugh.

Sam's father is awful in an entirely different way: he can't stand to see her ever again, canceling left and right because of his new wife and daughter. He has the utter nerve to follow up one of his cancellations with "Listen, when do I get to see you?" You're the one who just canceled on her yet again, you fucking bastard, and -you act like Sammie canceled on you-. I fucking hate you. Sam's mother is also not amazing to me. The divorce was hard on her and she got a new date, and acts not great to Sam. Sam's boyfriend Paul is a huge douchebag. I realize all these characters I don't like are devices to push Sam and Jules closer together, and make William and Sandra shine in comparison. It's effective. Rosie was vaguely annoying since I don't like kids, but the times she was on the page, it was always for a really good reason. I thought Brooke's relationship to Sam was interesting. I liked Linda, too. The only man I felt attached to was William. Dr Jerestin is heading a huge scam. What immediately tipped me off was that the fake institute was pay what you will. I respected Dr Connor and was glad for her until she yelled at Sandra and Jules. They made what they thought was an educated choice at the time. Don't yell at them for being scammed.

Saving other things about Dr Connor so I can examine other things in a semi-linear fashion. I loved reading about dance, dance classes, and the effect it had on the girls' lives. I thought the scene with the psychic was interesting, especially how it factored in later. There were dozens of clues, some big but many more subtle, that Sam and Jules were in love with each other. -That- is what I really connected to as a kid. I didn't have the words for how I felt, but I was aware I was queer and picked up on it in Sam and Jules even back then. They both have boyfriends but so what. I could write more on it but I want to address Dr Connor again. I lost all respect for her and I go through this every time I read the book, when she lied to Jules about her hair to get her back on chemo. I truly wonder if she lost her license or something. Still gets me so frustrated.

Above all, what I noticed relatively recently about this book was that while it follows cancer treatments and its effects in broad strokes, it's still romanticized. This is my favorite book, and it's sick lit. It's more than that, but still. A huge realization happened when I was reading this last year: Jules could have had a heart condition instead, and everything about the book could still fit. Her pacemaker could malfunction, or she could be on a transplant list and not make it, and the whole story could still be what it is. I had to suspend a lot of medical disbelief when reading this but did so every time. But--the plot I just offered could have indeed worked better. There's even a ballet with the lead character with a heart problem: "Giselle." While these girls are dancers, they don't talk about future dance plans in any solid way, I was a semi-professional child actor, and wow, did I have solid if un-reached goals. So I think about this.

The book's still terrific and I'm so glad it's still part of my life.
A QUICK NOTE ON THE SO-CALLED MOVIE ADAPTATION: IT IS THE WORST ONE I HAVE EVER SEEN AND I FEEL SO BAD FOR THE AUTHOR. IT EVEN HAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE ACTORS IN IT AS SAM, WHEN SHE SHOULD BE JULIE. Seriously, I often consider writing a play adaptation with more accurate casting. (annoyed sigh)… (more)

The story takes two unconnected teens through their traumatic lives until the meet in a dreadful confrontation. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bit off - so I wasn't surprised to read in an after ward that it was a fictionalised account of two real people who now work to prevent homophobia. Perhaps the hard copy lets the reader know up front that it is based on a true story? My fiction critic might have disengaged if I'd known in advance. I prefer other stories, this felt didactic to me. However, for someone reading this it might be very comforting to know the stories are true and the events survivable.… (more)