Combine beautiful dancing, developing friendships, and a creepy mystery, and you’ve got an exciting story that’s hard to put down. Megan Atwood does a great job hooking her readers into her stories with skillfully descriptive writing, crisp dialogue, and a plot with more than one twist. 

I especially enjoyed the realistic scenarios that most teens will be able to relate to on some level. No, I’m not talking about attending the private ballet school for the best dancers in the country, but the loneliness that comes from being the new girl, the difficulties of making friends with people who are probably jealous of one’s abilities, and the awkwardness of trying to fit in in a new place. The excitement of solving a mystery kept the story going while all the real issues developed in the background. 

Leaping at Shadows is a quick, easy read that ends with the implication that there will be more mysteries for these new friends to solve, and that suits me just fine.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Lerner Publishing Group

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  1 religious exclamation; 2 mild obscenities; 1 scatological word. 

Violence/Gore:  Several characters get bloody noses; a character is threatened with a knife without injury.

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

Cults (few details are given).

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None