As a former ballet and contemporary dancer, Leap was made for me. I loved the way Leap explores friendship, relationships, and dreams. It’s a tender graphic novel that will make your heart ache and warm. Keep reading this book review of Leap for my full thoughts.
Summary
Ana has been studying contemporary dance since she was little, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. Instead her focus is on Carina―a beautiful, ambitious ballerina whose fear of being outed keeps Ana in the closet and their fragile relationship from seeing the light of day. Risking her own career, Ana gives up more and more in order to fit into the shadows of Carina’s life.
Sara, on the other hand, is fielding whispers she may be the best dancer their school has produced in years. Much of that is thanks to her mentor and instructor, Marlena, who plucked Sara from the classical track and encouraged her to blossom as a contemporary dancer. Sara has always been in awe of Marlena, but recently, that admiration has sparked into something more, and Sara’s not sure what to do about it.
As junior year at their performing arts school begins, Ana and Sara are assigned as roommates. What starts off as a tentative friendship soon becomes a much-needed anchor.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Leap is a testament to friendship which comes at the perfect timing. It’s about friends being a soft space to land, someone to tell us the truth, and someone who can see through our pained smiles. A good friend is invaluable and that’s one of the lessons learned in Leap. From the beginning, I loved the color scheme and bold lines. The dancing panels were some of my favorite in their sense of movement and color. For Leap, both Ana and Sara are struggling to figure out their own feelings and their future.
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When someone doesn’t return the love we give, it can feel so isolating. We can feel like there’s something wrong with us, especially when we give with our whole heart. While we should be able to fight for our love, sometimes it doesn’t need to be so hard. And for Sara it’s hard to separate our admiration from love. When we feel like someone sees a piece of ourselves we never did, how do we reconcile that? Leap is emotional and moving. If you love graphic novels and dance this is a must read. Find Leap on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.