In A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman, Veda is a talented dancer of traditional Bharatanatyam dance, the oldest style of Indian dance. However, when she is in an unfortunate bus accident and loses her right leg below the knee, she has to fight her way back to what she loves most - dance.
Told in beautiful verse, I fell in love with Veda's strength and determination. She's both a typical teen yet pretty mature and strong-willed for her age.
It was so endearing and heart warming watching Veda find her way back to dance in a different and more meaningful way.
Veda's different relationships throughout the story were also interesting and each teaches her something important about herself.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel-in-verse if you love poetic language, dance, and want to be immersed in a traditional Indian dance style you likely know little-to-nothing about.
*Look up "Bharatanatyam" videos on YouTube while you're at, it was so compelling to watch.
CW: Slight depression
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Have a wonderful day!
~ Tuma
