Starred Review "We were alive. I remember it that way. We were still alive, and we couldn't make heads or tails of the darkness, so we couldn't see how close we were to the end." Spoken by Amber from inside the secure juvenile-detention center that has been her home for years, these chilling words foreshadow her terrible secret, the one she can't even admit to herself. As Amber's story of how Orianna, the "Bloody Ballerina," became her cell mate unfolds, another ballerina takes the stage with her own dark tale to tell. Eighteen-year-old Violet, a Juilliard dancer, is haunted by a secret relating to the time her best friend, Orianna, killed two girls, went to prison, and died. Intensity and dread build as the girls' stories coil and uncoil around each other, revealing the sinister truth in a startling, fantastical final twist. Suma excels in creating surreal, unsettling stories with vivid language, and this psychological thriller is no exception. Along the way, Suma also makes a powerful statement about the ease with which guilt can be assumed and innocence awarded, not only in the criminal-justice system but in our hearts the stories we tell ourselves. A fabulous, frightening read.

Gr 9 Up-This haunting and evocative tale of magical realism immerses readers in two settings that seem worlds apart. The book is told in alternating first-person voices from the perspective of two teenagers: lonely Amber, who at age 13 was convicted of murdering her abusive stepfather and sent to Aurora Hills, a juvenile detention facility, and Vee, an insecure yet ruthlessly ambitious Julliard-bound ballerina. Through Vee's and Amber's recollections, readers learn about talented, kind-hearted Ori, Vee's former best friend and a dancer herself, who after being convicted of a heinous crime is sent to Aurora Hills, where she becomes Amber's roommate—and where soon after a strange tragedy occurs. Though the plotting of this taut, gripping suspense leans heavily on ghosts and murder and will easily attract teens, this is no mere thriller. The prose is mesmerizing, laced with visceral, gorgeous figurative language, and draws subtle parallels between the disciplined, constricting world of ballet and the literal prison in which Amber and Ori find themselves. Believable and well developed, Vee and Amber have strong, unforgettable voices that ring true. Suma's unflinchingly honest depiction of the potentially destructive force of female friendship and skillful blending of gritty realism with supernatural elements is reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls (Viking, 2009), and the eerie mood she evokes is unnervingly potent. VERDICT A powerful story that will linger with readers.— Mahnaz Dar , School Library Journal

The setting of this powerful novel should attract teen readers: a secure juvenile detention center for teen offenders under the age of eighteen, surrounded by the titular walls. One of the narrators is Amber, an inmate who has been in the center for three years, admitted at age thirteen for the murder of her stepfather in a burning truck, which she insists was an accident. There is an attempted prison break in the first chapter, after which Amber gets a new cellmate, Ori, a talented ballet dancer. The other narrator is Ori's best friend, Violet, also a talented ballet dancer, who testified against Ori at her trial for the brutal murder of two other dancers in their troupe. Three years later, Violet graduates and is accepted into Julliard, her lifelong dream, but before leaving town, she visits what remains of the juvenile detention center, closed after the tragic murder of all the inmates, including her friend. Gradually the narratives of these two disparate girls uncover what actually happened the night that ended Ori and Violet's friendship and who was responsible for the tragedy at the detention center.This is a fascinating look at life inside a juvenile detention center, as well as inside the world of ballet, including the training that young ballerinas receive as well as the poisonous rivalry, jealousy, and back stabbing rising stars face from the competition. The compelling narrative, written in scintillating prose and featuring incredibly real characters, brings the two stories together in an explosive finale with a supernatural twist that results in a satisfying resolution to the struggle between the guilt and evil depicted here.Bonnie Kunzel.

Bloody Ballerina