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The Maddie Diaries: My Story

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From Dance Moms star and So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation judge Maddie Ziegler comes the first novel in a brand-new middle grade trilogy about friendship, dance, and going after your dreams.

The Competition is Maddie Ziegler's 3 and final book the audition trilogy and her 4th book overall. I looked around the reception area as I waited. There was a huge DanceStarz logo above the main desk. DanceStarz colors were pink, white, and gold, which I had to admit looked pretty cool. DanceStarz was much brighter than my old studio, with white walls and huge floor-to-ceiling windows. (It was particularly strange to look out the window and see palm trees.) Dance Moms is my guilty pleasure and I am a total fan girl when it comes to the show and the girls on the show. It does not matter that I am much older, I still just enjoyed the show. I was so excited when this arrived in the mail today (thank you Gallery Books) that I immediately started to read it.

Thanks to a chance conversation, Harper joins the school musical. Not only is this an opportunity to polish up her stage presence, but as the newbie at school, Harper is excited to make some more friends. Oh, no!” My eight-year-old sister, Hailey, dramatically fake-gasped and pointed at me from the couch across from me. “It’s the apocalypse! Harper has . . . wispies!”

You can do it, Harper! Love you, Harper!” My new teammates are encouraging, but I know they’re questioning how this will go. This routine is nearly impossible! How could any twelve-year-old ever possibly pull this off? My adrenaline is racing. Twelve-year-old Harper has been dancing practically since she learned to walk. She loves her dance studio and team, and just won her first ever top junior solo in a regional competition. But right before the school year starts, Harper’s parents drop a bombshell—the family has to relocate from their cozy town in Connecticut to sunny Florida for their jobs. That means saying goodbye to her friends, dance team, trips to see shows in NYC—and did she mentioned dance team? Aun sintiendo que este libro fue demasiado infantil para mi gusto, algo que tengo que recalcar es que mientras leía a estos personajes no podia evitar sentirme nostálgico. Todo lo que sucede en este libro y como reaccionan los personajes me llevaron al pasado y me hicieron recordar como yo era en esa edad, y hasta cierto punto me identifiqué. Eran los años de pureza y diversión total, y este libro me trajo muchos recuerdos.

Ultimately, this was a nice read. I wanted something easy and chill for the weekend and this was it. I think deep down I had hoped for something juicier and more personal but yeah, I realize that's not what this book had intended to be. I really liked the personal touches throughout this book. There are small doodles from Maddie and pictures from her being a small child up until now. These were nice touches. The message throughout this whole book is pretty positive, and I think Maddie really shows her pride in being a positive role model for her peers.

What Worked? I loved the book, and I don't think it could have been written better. The readers learn about teamwork, friendships, hard work, determination and so much more throughout the story. I loved that Harper was so understanding when she had to give up her home, friends, and dance studio for her dads new job that's a tough thing to do and she handled it so well. Ziegler perfectly captured adolescent angst, mean girls syndrome and the competitive spirit that comes at this age when it seems like all that matters in life is the next big win.Teen dance prodigy, breakout Dance Moms star , and judge on So You Think You Can The Next Generation presents her uplifting coming-of-age memoir about following her dreams and working hard to achieve success in both the dance world and in life. It’s not a perfect story, at least from an adult’s point of view. The characters feel stereotypical but that didn’t stop the Bring it On story from becoming a franchise of six movies, a musical and even a book though it suffered from the same problem. As an adult I wish she had made the characters more diverse, given them a more well rounded set of interests and hopes but for the age group it’s directed towards I don’t think they’ll care. I’m standing just offstage, waiting for my big moment.I know my mom and dance teacher are in the audience, holding their breath in anticipation. This will be the most challenging dance I’ve ever performed—not only that but the most challenging dance anyone at DanceStarz Academy has ever performed. There’s a lot of pressure on me.

It's got some good morals when it comes to teamwork and the book values friendship considerably, it's short and a bit predictable and I'm not in the middle-grade target age (just a little bit out of it) and could still overlook this and enjoy. If parents worry about kids reading inappropriate books or smutty books, they can be rest assured that this book is appropriate. Don’t get me wrong—I liked doing other things besides dancing: drawing, painting, baking brownies, hanging out with my friends, and watching funny YouTube videos (and videos of dancers like Travis Wall and Maddie Ziegler). But the dance floor was my happy place. Harper was happy with her life in Connecticut. She was satisfied. But she had questions. Would she find another dance studio out in Florida? Would it be a great one like the one she was part of now? What if she couldn’t continue to dance? What about friends? She would have to leave the ones she had built a life with, but would the new kids in Florida let her in? Life seemed so uncertain now. since the book is written in Harper's point of view it was Hailey who was making fish faces at her. A tale that that will appeal to young kids particularly if they’ve been through a move themselves where they find their entire life uprooted.I thought the in between sections moved the story alone nicely. (Dear Maddie, notes from her friends and family, and Today is a Beautiful Day To...) I am not a huge fan of non-fiction, but I flew through this and finished it in only a few hours. It was a very easy and fast paced read. It did seem to jump around a little bit and had random things thrown in, but it still was pretty good. I definitively think fans of the show or Maddie will still enjoy it. I also think this is perfect for younger teens.

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