Flirty Dancing

Gr 6–9—Bea Hogg leads a typical adolescent life. She yearns to embrace who she really is deep inside but lacks the courage to do so. Bea seems unable to take the lead on any part of her life. She meekly allows her so-called best friend to betray her and never even considers standing up for herself to the school bully. Things takes a turn when her grandmother arranges for her to be paired with the quietly handsome Ollie Matthews to perform a dance routine on national television. The preparation for the dance is the catalyst for Bea's coming into her own: she finds her voice to combat the bully and predictably wins the love of Ollie. The characters are somewhat two-dimensional: the mean-girl bully, the disloyal best friend, the shy but handsome dance partner, and Bea's irreverent grandmother. The plot is a little slow and predictable, with an obvious ending: the ugly duckling turns into a swan. Further, the protagonist isn't very empowered, and her good fortune seems accidental.