Drina’s Dancing Year continues this format: it tells the story of Drina’s first year at the Dominick ballet school and of her determination to succeed on her own merit rather than revealing her secret, but it is also an important part in the overall arch of Drina’s journey towards becoming (as I assume she inevitably will, these being happy children’s books) a world class ballerina. While the first book Ballet for Drina stands on its own as a complete story, its primary purpose is to provide the necessary background information to set up the rest of the series. While some of this is no doubt still nostalgia kicking in - because it IS just a brief children's book - I'm still finding myself sucked back into a world I adored as a little girl, and I'm loving it. I found myself even bonding with the director and headmistress of her school, and they don't actually do much yet. Every single character we meet, even if only for a brief time, is given a strong and unique personality. Honestly, looking back, I think this is part of what makes the series as a whole so interesting. Drina's friendships also develop nicely, with her best friend, Jenny, and her fellow ballerina-in-training, Rose, as well as adults like former dancer Adele.

With Drina's dancing and the secret of her mother out in the open, neither have anything to hide from one another, and their relationship really blossoms without becoming cloying or over the top. The moments I loved best were between Drina and her grandmother. Everyone was so tense and unhappy during the first story, and while there are definitely moments of conflict here, on the whole, the characters are able to develop without a lot of road blocks.

Probably the best part of this book for me was that the characters were more relaxed and free to be themselves. The fact that this was just as strong as the first really gave me hope. So often, authors write a brilliant first story but then lose the quality going forward. While the first book obviously hooked me on the series, I think this was the one that made me realize how much I was going to adore it.

Drina ballerina book series