Misty Copeland

Charisse Jones

Profiles the life and career of the professional ballerina, covering from when she began dance classes at age thirteen in an after-school community center through becoming the only African American soloist dancing with the American Ballet Theatre.

An Unlikely Ballerina

Life in Motion

Angelyn Francis

A breezy read. Finished this really quickly and it was nice to read her story in her own words, though I have already researched her and expected the content. A bit repetitive at times but really enjoyable. 

This is the book that made me decide, for the next while at least, I'm only going to read what I'm excited to read, rather than sloughing through something just because I've started.

Elad Schulman

I couldn't be happier for this book to be the first memoir I read. It was narrated beautifully, and i'm so happy that I got to learn more about Misty Copeland from Misty Copeland herself.

Destini Baylis Adams

I have been on a non-fiction craze lately and I wanted to learn more about the world of ballet(something I really know nothing about). I have to say Misty Copeland is truly phenomenal. I must say that her story really did help me think about issues in racial relations -I mean I never thought about how I never saw any African American or minority ballerinas before. She is quite an inspiration and she really did help me open my eyes to something that I would have never noticed. However, the writing is not very strong here and I understand that she is not a writer, but I feel the story could have either been edited better and written differently. As much as I enjoyed learning about racial relations in ballet along with Misty's insecurities, I felt like she talked about this more than actual ballet on every page (granted it is a huge part of her story) to the point where it seemed as if she was complaining. It is her story and she has every right to tell it how she wants, but it was difficult to connect to her when she was describing her many accomplishments and then suddenly she is talking about the prejudice against her. That is what made this to be a bit of an exhausting read despite Misty's drive, bravery, and triumphs.

Life in Motion An Unlikely Ballerina

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