Launch Party for Amanda Brice: Pointe of No Return (A Dani Spevak Mystery)

Congrats to 
Amanda Brice 

on the release of:

Publication Date: June 10, 2012

********** MY REVIEW **********

Nothing delights me more than to find YA that is both engaging and age appropriate for teens.  Amanda Brice has found a way to be true to YA by surpassing the overtly sexual and profane topics while still writing a great series that both young adults and adults will love. 

I thoroughly enjoyed both CODENAME: DANCER and POINTE OF NO RETURN.  Dani, whom the story is set around, and her cast of friends are funny, realistic and quite the team.  The story moves along quickly while you are working with Dani and her pals to solve the mysteries.    

CODENAME DANCER: 4 stars

POINTE OF NO RETURN:  3.0 stars

NOTE:  

My only criticism of these two novels is that there is a lot of derogatory and unkind things said about police officers.  Many people that I know and love are police officers and I found some of the comments to be over the top.  I felt that the comments did not add to story, but added to the notion that police officers are not be be trusted and are bigots.  This is very upsetting to me since the men and women of law enforcement risk their lives daily (some not returning home at night) to keep us safe.  There is bad in every field and I am not saying every officer is perfect, but there are far more good ones than bad.  I feel that without this component in the novels they could have been 5 star books for teens. 

Publication Date: April 21, 2011

Aspiring ballerina Dani Spevak is thrilled when hit TV show Teen Celebrity Dance Off comes to the campus of her performing arts boarding school. She trades the barre for the ballroom and gets set to cha-cha-cha to stardom with Hollywood wonderboy Nick Galliano.

At first their partnership is awkward, because Dani is in awe of her longtime teen idol crush. But soon their chemistry is heating up the dance floor and the attraction moves into real life.

Her excitement is short-lived, because someone wants her off the show. Bombs, poisoning, arson… Will Dani’s 15 minutes of fame be over before she reaches age 15? Dani and her friends are suddenly at the center of some serious sabotage. And if she doesn’t find out who is behind it, her next pirouette could be her last.

Aspiring ballerina Dani Spevak’s visions of sugar plums are dashed when she’s assigned to understudy her nemesis, Hadley Taylor, in the Nutcracker. Pretty, popular, and rich, that girl has all the luck. Or so she thought.

When Hadley mysteriously disappears with opening night just around the corner, Dani can’t sit idly by, even if it means losing the part. Now she’s running all over Phoenix in a race against the clock. From reality TV trophy wives to sleazy real estate developers to a possible drug ring, the cast of suspects begins to add up. Will she find Hadley before the curtain rises?

Buy the books HERE