This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.
Pretending to Dance
Molly Arnette is a good liar. Married to a man she adores, living in San Diego, and eager to adopt a baby since she is unable to have a child- Molly feels fear as the adoption process turns personal- and the social worker begins to question Molly about her past.
Why is Molly nervous?
Because she’s told a lie. A lie, that if her husband found out, might destroy every bit of happiness she has found. And Molly could not handle that- especially since she lost so much happiness when she was 14 and living in North Carolina.
What happened when Molly was a teenager? Will her lie come to light? These and many more questions will be answered in Diane Chamberlain’s latest, PRETENDING TO DANCE.
Traveling With T’s Thoughts:
I’m a good liar.
From the first line of PRETENDING TO DANCE, the reader feels a chill. Is Molly a pathological liar or does she have a good reason to lie?
As the readers gets further in the story, the reader realizes that Molly has good reasons to lie- she’s trying to forge a healthy life and move forward- with an adoption and a husband. To live the life she’s longed for many years.
PRETENDING TO DANCE is a story told from two distinct time periods: Molly’s current life and Molly at 14- when she was living the summer of teen’s dreams- New Kids on the Block concert, Dr. Martens, and her taste at first love.
Between the back and forth of the chapters dealing with Molly (current and 14 year old)- we, the readers, find out what happened that blissful summer- and how it shaped her, her relationships and why it’s making her question certain aspects of the adoption process.
PRETENDING TO DANCE is a story that deals with multiple issues: coming of age story, life with an incurable illness, dignity, death, and secrets. It also sheds light on adoption- open versus closed- and may make readers reconsider their previous thought process on potential hot button issues.
There has been much misinformation floating around about PRETENDING TO DANCE being a sequel to last year’s THE SILENT SISTER. It’s not. There are some similarities- secrets and geography, mainly- but they are not related books.
Bottom line: If you’ve enjoyed Diane’s previous books- this should please you. New to Diane? Then you’ve picked a nice book to start reading!
*This book was sent to Traveling With T from St. Martin’s Press for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*
Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,
T @ Traveling With T
I really enjoyed your review, especially since I read this book. You managed to write an awesome review without giving any surprises away! Well done!
THANK YOU. I always struggle how much to share- glad I did Pretending to Dance proud 🙂
Yeah. I loved this one very much although had heard no rumors about it being a follow up to The Silent Sister which I enjoyed too. This one will be one of my top favs for 2015 I do believe.
Ooh! I’ll be curious to see what else makes it in your top favs!!
I really liked this one, my review will be up soon. The end had the best four lines of any book I’ve ever read!
Yay! And YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I completely agree!
I enjoyed the Silent Sister and have Pretending To Dance on my ‘thread’ list. Thanks for your great review T.
You are SO welcome!!!! Thank you for stopping by!