Alphabet City Ballet

Marisol Perez is a Puerto Rican girl on the Lower East Side who wins a ballet scholarship and has to figure out how to actually get uptown to use it — no small thing when her father and brother are working all day and the route is not safe to navigate alone. Erika Tamar grounds the story in a specific, authentic urban world, and Kirkus and Publishers Weekly both praised her for handling the social landscape honestly without turning it into melodrama. Marisol is a determined, likable protagonist, and her friendship with Haitian classmate Desiree is one of the book's quiet strengths. The peripheral drug and gang elements are handled carefully but parents of younger middle-grade readers should know they are present. A short, episodic story that earns its place in a multicultural classroom library without quite becoming a standout.