Despite me not being the target audience for this story, I thought it was a worthwhile read anyways. Sure, the writing wasn't anything spectacular and the plot a bit simplistic despite the serious subject matter, the message behind the words was very important and something children should definitely be exposed to. With beautiful, captivating writing, wonderfully authentic ballet detail, and an important message championing the rights of refugees, this is classic storytelling - filled with warmth, hope and humanity. For her ballet audition, Aya must choreograph a dance, using five objects that hold some special significance or meaning for her. ‘They must show who you are,’ says Miss Helena. ‘Where you come from and where you want to go.’

Object number three might introduce a character who can help your hero/heroine achieve their aim – along with some tools that might enable them to overcome the obstacles they face. A ballet shoe reminds her of her dance school in Syria, of her friends and her beloved dance teacher –of the life she once knew before the war Maggie Walton’s father has dedicated his life to a single pursuit: hunting down the monster created by Victor Frankenstein. It has cost Maggie and her family everything – and now her father is staking everything on one last voyage to the Arctic, with Maggie secretly in tow, where he hopes to find the monster at last.This is going to seem a little obscure, but I was teaching Wharton’s 1920 Pulitzer prize winning classic to my lovely A Level class when I was writing the end of No Ballet Shoes in Syria and it is her beautifully delicately balanced ending that I attempted to emulate. I didn’t want ‘happy ever after’, because that would trivialise the issues I was writing about, but nor did I want the finale to be totally bleak. I wanted an ending that offered hope at the same time as breaking my readers’ hearts. Newland Archer sitting on a bench outside Ellen Olenska’s Paris apartment, not going up, but knowing that the memory of her is enough – it breaks my heart and makes me sob every time. And that was what I wanted to achieve too. I guess you’ll have to read it and decide if I succeed… A moving story about one of the big issues of our time, told with wonderful clarity, and incredibly touching.” – Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo Fun-loving, intelligent, sexy journalist and single mum… seeks companionship (ideally), love (possibly), sex (definitely maybe!); laughter (compulsory)…. with like-minded, clever, cute middle-aged single man (no ‘still-married-but-my-wife-doesn’t-get-me’s need apply) Ideally based in the SW… This 1936 classic remains a touchstone for balletomane children. Orphans Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil are adopted by eccentric Great Uncle Matthew; when the money runs out, they take to the stage to pay the bills. I believe the book’s endurance is down to its depictions of adolescence as much as the dance detail. The characters are complicated, enviable, flawed. Pretty Pauline’s temper tantrum is one of the best meltdowns in any literature, and results in one of the most relatable comeuppances. The writing is suffused with a teenage sensuousness: costumier’s fabrics such as organza and taffeta seem to caress the reader’s skin as well as the characters’. But at the same time, Aya and her family must fight to be allowed to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya’s father – separated from the rest of the family during the journey from Syria.

In terms of the plot and characters, nothing to write home about. It was a fairly generic and simple plot and the ending was a little too neat for my liking, but again, this is likely due to this book being for a middle grade audience. The characters were also not massively fleshed out and many of them (particularly Dotty) sometimes felt like caricatures. I am very obviously not the target demographic for this book but I read the synopsis on my library app and thought it sounded interesting, and it was short enough for me to get through in a single sitting so 🤷🏾‍♀️ why not!

Format

A handkerchief reminds her of the journey to the refugee camp in Turkey, of being shut in a container for three days, of the freezing cold in the camp, of not enough food to eat. Thank you to Catherine for her hugely insightful blog post, it’s really interesting to see how writers can be influenced by the books they surround themselves with. So, first choose your five objects. They can be very ordinary things, or rather outlandish ones (maybe a mixture of the two is best, it’s up to you…) Alternatively, you could work with a friend and choose objects for each other. This story is insightful, heartwarming and about one girl's journey to fight for her rights and her dream. As the title describes it, this is Aya's journey of running away from what was once her home and leaving it behind in hopes for a better future for her family. This particular middle grade book has so much depth, Aya goes through so much and it was a very eventful ride through the end. A shell from the beach reminds her of the boat trip across the Mediterranean in the storm, of the boat capsizing, of the last time she saw her father.

Possible idea for improvement? A GLOSSARY. I am a huge fan of helpful glossaries, and I would really have liked an illustrated glossery explaining the ballet terms. Also, the Syrian words. And the terms used to describe refugees throughout the book (asylum seekers, I can't remember now but I know there was other interesting lingo too). Okay, maybe this book needs 3 separate glossaries. I just think it would add that extra informative layer. Today I am delighted to welcome Catherine Bruton to the blog to talk about the books that inspired her to write the remarkable, ‘No Ballet Shoes in Syria.’ I was incredibly touched by the story of eleven year old Aya who has fled from the war in Syria to seek asylum in England. Ava is doing what no eleven year old should ever have to do, she is holding her family together. Her mother is drowning in grief and is unable to speak English, so the burden of looking after her younger brother and trying to deal with the authorities falls to her. It would be almost unbearable to read a story that is so desperately sad but Catherine shows the reader that inside Aya is more than what others see her to be. She may be viewed as an asylum seeker but in her heart she’s a dancer and a chance encounter with a local ballet teacher changes her life forever. Hauntingly sad but ultimately hopeful this is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. I cried, I laughed and smiled my way through this extraordinary story which needs to be in every school. Wonderfully empathetic and incredibly inspiring, I felt emotionally wrung out by this moving story. A complete triumph in every way. For Aya, doing ballet is her own coping mechanism and her passion. Anybody can tell just how much she loves it and I'm so glad that the people around her are so supportive. Its so nice to see that families and strangers even are willing to go to such length just to make her dream come true.PDF / EPUB File Name: No_Ballet_Shoes_in_Syria_-_Catherine_Bruton.pdf, No_Ballet_Shoes_in_Syria_-_Catherine_Bruton.epub Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... Misty Copeland performs in Swan Lake for the American Ballet Theatre in 2014. Photograph: Darren Thomas/AP