Dark Turns

September 14, 2015
Nursing a severely strained Achilles tendon and a shattered heart, ballerina Nia Washington, the heroine of Holahan’s suspenseful but melodramatic first novel, believes a year teaching dance at Wallace Academy will be just what the doctor ordered. Shortly after her arrival at the posh Connecticut girls’ school, however, the dean takes her on a tour of the campus, including the lake, where they discover the body of a 15-year-old student. This is but a harbinger of the twisted passions and pure evil to come. Holahan nails the preppy ambience, the cliques, the conspicuous consumption, and the coltish beauties such as golden girl Aubrey Byrne, who flirts with English teacher Peter Andersen, Nia’s budding new beau. But Holahan is less interested in delving beneath the glossy surface and showing, for instance, just what drives Nia to dance, love, or anything else. In the end, this Black Swan pas de deux with Tartt’s The Secret History proves to be a reflection of the dancers it showcases: elegant but thin. Agent: Paula Munier, Talcott Notch.

October 1, 2015
Ballet dancer Nia Washington thinks that taking a year off to teach at a prestigious boarding school will be a good way to give her resume a boost and her strained Achilles tendon a chance to heal. What she doesn't expect is to see a student's dead body dragged from a pond just as she's moving on campus. Nor does she expect that her teenage students will be as adept at backstabbing as any spotlight-craving prima ballerina. Still reeling from a breakup with her fellow dancer Dimitri, Nia falls into a convenient relationship with another teacher, Peter Andersen. At first, Nia easily excuses Peter's bouts of possessiveness and mistrust, but, when he's caught in a big lie, Nia begins to wonder if there's anyone at Wallace Academy she can trust. Journalist Holahan's debut will appeal to fans of precocious teen conspiracies like Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series, as well as to fans of grown-up, plucky-heroine-must-fight-for-herself thrillers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)