Full disclosure: I was given an advance reader’s copy of this book from SparkPoint Studio in exchange for an honest review.
I spent six years taking dance classes while growing up. I took two years of ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed every second of it. I didn’t do competitions, which is fine by me. I can only imagine how high the expectations would be and how much I would have to push myself. I was reminded of these things while reading the book What’s Yours is Mine by Jennifer Jabaley. It’s Dance Moms if it was a soap opera in the best way possible with its slow burn pacing and intriguing characters.
What’s Yours is Mine is about two determined friends and their controlling mothers as they gear up for a big dance competition. Valerie Yarnell is a hardworking single mom who would do anything for her daughter, Kate. Kate is a dancer with big dreams, much like her talented best friend, Colette. Despite Valerie’s sacrifices, it’s Colette’s mother, Elsie – a former ballerina – whom Kate adores, and Colette is the sister Kate never had. It’s hard for Valerie not to feel frustrated, ineffectual, and a little jealous of the queen bee of dance moms. Not only has Elsie hijacked Kate, but she is married to the man Valerie pines for. Rivalries then form, and tension mounts. While the girls prepare for an elite dance competition, Kate outshines the more promising Colette onstage, and the pressure is on for Colette to maintain her star status and to keep her mother happy. And then, a violent attack happens up on Colette, which sabotages everything. As ruthless and sinister ambitions are exposed, a media firestorm and an explosive town scandal erupt. Before it’s over, two mothers and two daughters will learn just how fierce and dangerous a rivalry can still get.
Now, I’ve never watched Dance Moms. My main experience with it was through clips from The Soup. Regardless, I still enjoyed reading What’s Yours is Mine because it was compelling to see how the main cast interacted with and tried to sabotage each other. I didn’t need Dance Moms to help me understand the inner workings of the competitive dance world. All forms of entertainment involve some sabotage whether people like it or not.
This novel is a slow burn. Sometimes, readers can be annoyed at this since it can make the story move at a snail’s pace. In this case, it works because the characters are so interesting that I needed to know more of what was going to happen. Plus, when the point of view shifts, the plot still moves along. It goes inside a character’s mindset for a bit before moving on to the next plot point. And, it plays up the melodrama by ending some chapters on a cliffhanger. It made me want to read more despite being at work.
And of course, I have to talk about the twist. I didn’t see it coming. Even though I had to think about some of the logistics, I was still surprised. Go read the novel to find out.
The story is told through the eyes of Valerie, Colette, and Elise. Valerie is a single mother who works as a nurse. She often thinks that she’s a terrible mom because her daughter Kate barely spends time with her, and she doesn’t get her passion for dance. I felt bad for her since she does so much for the two of them to survive. Also, Kate was a brat at certain points. Another character I felt sorry for was Colette. She’s a terrific dancer and is best friends with Kate. However, her mom Elise pressures her to maintain her star status, even if that means suspecting that Kate is going to usurp her. Throughout the novel, Colette feels that she is going to crack because she wants to dance, yet she wants to maintain her friendship with Kate. I honestly imagined her as former Dance Moms dancer and social media starlette Jojo Siwa because of how she is described in the book. It fits her to a tee.
With all of that being said, my favorite character was Elsie. Even though she’s the most unlikeable person in the book, I was intrigued by how far she was going to go for Colette to succeed. Those feats are literally on soap opera levels. She reminded me of Elena from Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and Velma Von Tussle from the musical Hairspray with how much they wanted their kids to be successful without actually talking to them about what they really want. Plus, Elise gets a juicy comeuppance.
What’s Yours is Mine by Jennifer Jabaley is a wonderful fiction book about the cutthroat nature of dance. The way it moves feels like a soap opera with the backstories, how the story unfolds, and how outlandish the situations were. And, the center is the compelling cast of characters. Are all of them likeable? No, but I still enjoyed reading about them. I would recommend it to those who are/were dancers, like to read about the dance world, and/or have watched Dance Moms. What’s Yours is Mine will be out tomorrow, August 5, so go grab it wherever you get your books.
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Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything 