When It All Syncs Up Review

Wow! Where I do I begin?

When It All Syncs Up by Maya Ameyaw is a YA novel set in Canada. The MC, Aisha, loves ballet and is trying to get recognized by any prestigious ballet academy, but things weren't working out at her elite ballet academy. She decides to move in with her childhood friend Neil (after Neil himself has a huge health scare) and transfer to his public arts high school. 

Unfortunately, things don't change a lot right away, but now Aisha has a new circle of support with Neil, Neil's best friend (and later Aisha's boyfriend) Ollie, a guy named Ebi, and another girl named Khadija. Aisha also learns in her new environment what does she really want to do, and try not to live up to other people's expectations (mostly her mother's). 

On the surface it looks like another work-really-hard-for-your-dreams book with ballet as the center, but this story ended up being a lot deeper than that! It dealt with racism, sexism, eating disorders, alcoholism, strained parent-child relationships, and mental health issues (these are also trigger warnings). 

The cast is very diverse, too! Aisha is Ghanian-Canadian, Neil is Korean-Canadian, Ollie is Algerian-Canadian (and bi), and Ebi is Nigerian-Canadian (and gay).

So yeah, I gave it 5 stars. I can't wait to read the sequel Under All the Lights! 

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