Saturday 21 July 2012

Review: Dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman


dancergirl (WiHi, #1)
  Title: Dancergirl
  Author: Carol M. Tanzman
  Publisher: Harlequin
  Publication date: November 15th 2011
  My rating: 4 stars





 
Description from Goodreads: Ever feel like someone's watching you? Me, too. But lately it's been happening in my room.
When I'm alone.
A friend posted a video of me dancing online, and now I'm no longer Alicia Ruffino. I'm dancergirl. And suddenly it's like me against the world.— everyone's got opinions.
My admirers want more, the haters hate, my best friend Jacy,— even he's acting weird. And some stalker isn't content to just watch anymore.
Ali. Dancergirl. Whatever you know me as, however you've seen me online, I've trained my whole life to be the best dancer I can be. But if someone watching has their way, I could lose way more than just my love of dancing. I could lose my life.

Dancergirl was a realistic and suspenseful read.  I couldn’t put it down once I started!

Ali has spent most of her life dancing.  It’s her passion.  She works at the local dance studio so she’s able to take all the free classes she wants.  She never imagines the thing she loves most would end up turning her life upside down.  While at a park concert with her best friend, Jacy, Ali’s filmed dancing.  One of her film geek friends catches her, doing what she does best, and loads the video up on the internet. He edits it out as sort of a mini show with her as “dancergirl” and him as the quite crushing boy in the sidelines “shyboy.”  It immediately goes viral and Ali is thrust into the spotlight with everyone at school and elsewhere, suddenly taking an interest in her.  At first Ali is flattered by all the attention.  Everyone has had the desire to feel special and wanted at some time in their life.  But soon the initial excitement at the popularity wears off.   What’s more disturbing is this video has brought Ali into the sights of a stalker, which becomes apparent when a video of her dancing in her underwear in her bedroom gets posted!  As soon as Ali sees this, she is beyond freaked out and wants nothing to do with all this “dancergirl” business.   Ali and Jacy try to figure out who could be behind the stalking.  Ali becomes more and more paranoid, suspecting anyone and everyone around her.  Add to this, Jacy has been acting strange and sullen.  Ali thought he might have just been about to kiss her at the park concert which would be a very bad idea.  They’ve been best friends forever and know way too much about each other to go down that road, right?   Oh so wrong, Ali!!

I adored Jacy, he was such a lovely and protective best friend.  My favorite type of love interest in books is the best-friends-that-turn-into-something-more kind.  Even if Ali didn’t see it right away, they were a perfect match.  You realize early on, even when Ali doesn’t, that Jacy has something major going on.  I wanted Ali to figure it out sooner, and wanted to shake her a couple of times when the light-bulb didn’t go off!  Jacy was in need of support just as much as she was.   

This story is something that could easily happen, and probably has in some form already.  With surveillance and camera phones everywhere, we’re often filmed without our knowledge.  This story pointed out the many ways this can go terribly wrong.  I was riveted by this tale and had to keep reading as the suspense level keep being ratcheted up, page by page.  I could easily put myself in Ali’s shoes; I would’ve been as creeped out by all this as she was!  Her level of anxiety kept rising with each new invasion.  I was a little annoyed that she didn’t immediately confide in her mother but we don’t always think with a clear head in an emotional situation.   There were several suspects and just when you think you know who’s responsible, you find out you’re wrong. 

I really enjoyed this suspenseful mystery!  Everyone who knows me, knows there must be romance in my reads.  While this is a little light on romance, I still found it satisfying and sweet.  The last few chapters were a definite thrill ride.   I’m now off to read the companion in this series: Circle of Silence.

 

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of this book, but it seems like a really intense read. It looks really good. :)
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Rachel.
I love best friends turned love interest too ! They are some of my favorite kinds of love interests.
Great review, Rachel !

Unknown said...

Oh my, such a beautiful review, Rachel! I agree, the story is very real in a bit creepy way. There are many examples when YouTube sensations become something bigger. It's a bit scary and somehow exciting in the same time weee. :D

Anyway, the romance in this book sounds very sweet! <3 Best friend turns boyfriend is very cute, although I like platonic relationship too LOL! x) Remind me to check out this book later on bookstore, Rachel! ;)

Eunice said...

Ooh. I haven't heard of this before but this really sounds so intriguing. And best friends turning into lovers? I love that! I'll have to check this out someday! Great review, Rachel! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

Keertana said...

I haven't heard of this book before but it sounds fantastic! It definitely has a unique twist to it and a creepy element added in, so I'm very curious about it now. I'll have to check it out myself! Fantastic review Rachel!(:

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

I always need a little bit of romance in my books too, Rachel. I'm glad that aspect was sweet and satisfying in this! I will definitely have to get around to this sooner than I planned now. I can't wait to see what you make of the second book too. :) Great review!

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

O_O This is another book that would have totally surprised me in a good way. I love stories that keep you on the edge of your seat, and I can't really remember that many stalker stories (except Clarity - Perception). This is something I would never just add to my tbr, but now that I know what it's about, I want it very badly. Fabulous review, Rachel!

Randi M said...

This sounds creepy and fantastic! I also love best-friend-turns-possible-love-interest stories. :) Great review!

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

I'm the same as you Rachel. I must have romance in my reads, even if its on the light side and its good that's fine. This isn't what I would normally pick up but you have me intrigued. Great review Rachel :)

Celine said...

I think I heard of Dancergirl last year and been wanting to read it! I love books about dancing (which I haven't read a lot) but this one sounds really good. I also love suspenseful stories filled with mysteries although sad that there's little romance in this book because like you, there must be romance in my reads too!

Anyway, awesome review, Rachel! ♥ Glad you enjoyed it!

Rachel said...

Amazing review Rachel! This book sounds amazing and i love getting to know you better. I best friends turn more and mysteries too. my favorite boys will always be a mix of good and bad boy though. I really need to read dancergirl sometime too. I love how you mentioned the importance of this book is broader then just fun entertainment, it also relates to the issues of technology.

Anonymous said...

Lovely review Rachel, like always. :) Dancegirl sounds like the perfect combination of intense, creepy, interesting and romantic, something that I know I will like. :) You're the epitome of Romantic Vanilla Queen, Rachel! I can see why you loved this. :)

Anonymous said...

Whoops, my mistake. I meant "Dancergirl". ;)

The Teen Book Guru said...

Amazing review, Rachel! This book seems so creepy and interesting... and I LOVE books about dancing!! They always fascinate me (you know, because of the fact that I can't dance to save my life :P). OMG me too!! I NEED to have a bit of romance in my reads otherwise I get SO bored! I'm so happy that you are like that too!! I thought I was the only one... :') Lovely review, Rachel! I'm definitely going to pick this up soon. <333

Vegan YA Nerds said...

This sounds great Rach, you're so right about this being something that could or probably has happened (creepy!) And Jacy does sound cool, I always feel for the best male friend when the girl doesn't realise he's into her!

And your review could not have come at a better time as I just received Circle of Silence and was wondering if I need to read this first? I don't think so as it's just a companion novel, but I am such a stickler for reading a series in order.

Could you let me know what you think once you've read CoS? Ta!

Jess said...

Wowza! This book sounds like something I'd love and I hadn't heard of it before your fab review, thanks for bringing it to my attention Rachel!

Giselle said...

Really happy to see that you liked this! I totally love friends-to-more romances and this one was really sweet and i loved that it was like and didn'T take over the plot. I find it's sweeter that way. Great review, chickie!

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