Reading Metrics
Grade Level
Middle Grades (MG 4-8)
Book Level
7.5
Points
3.0
Fiction/Nonfiction
Nonfiction
Word Count
17525
Points per Word
0.000171
Page Count
127
Points per Page
0.023622
Description
This memoir follows fourteen-year-old Olympia Dowd, a young Canadian ballet student from Vancouver, as she leaves home to join the Moscow City Ballet. The narrative chronicles her journey from a local workshop performer to becoming one of only two Canadians selected for the prestigious company. Through her firsthand account, readers experience the demanding training in Russia and the challenges of performing in cities across the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. The book captures both the excitement of artistic achievement and the loneliness of being a young teenager far from family while pursuing her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina.