You in Five Acts

A poignant and timely socially conscious narrative. --Kirkus Reviews Author Una LaMarche beautifully captures street scenes in New York City and breathes life into the school setting. Perhaps the strongest elements of You in Five Acts are the friendships between these characters and the different ways their dedication to art can be a saving grace or a curse. --BookPage LaMarche develops her racially diverse cast of characters well over the book's five acts, giving a strong sense of their ambitions, frustrations, and interlocking relationships that hover uncomfortably between friendship and love. --Publishers Weekly LaMarche crafts the novel in five parts, each narrated by one of the main characters. The protagonists are diverse, intelligent, and solidly teen in their perspectives. Each voice is distinct and recognizable. From the beginning, the story is counting down to a culminating event, and the author is able to develop suspense but also keep the book humorous and romantic. The conclusion is heartrending and timely but also unexpected and fresh. Different points of view keep the work moving at a fast pace and add to its compulsive readability. --School Library Journal LaMarche perfectly captures the competitive, high-stakes atmosphere of professional-track ballet through the eyes of a refreshingly strong protagonist who you can't help but root for. I loved it from beginning to end. --Sophie Flack, author of Bunheads