Anything but fine

Sixteen-year-old Luca has studied ballet since he was three and hopes to make it his profession, so when he falls and breaks his foot, he feels his life is over. To make matters worse, since he can no longer dance, he loses his arts scholarship and must leave his school to attend a (shudder) public school. In the meantime, at his physical therapist's office, he encounters the most breathtakingly beautiful boy he has ever seen. To Luca's delight, the boy, Jordan Tanaka-Jones, goes to his new school, where he is the resident (straight) golden boy. Nevertheless, the two begin talking and as friendship looms, Luca--who is gay and out--feels over the moon. Unfortunately, Luca's new friend Amina, whose family is from Indonesia, is also smitten by Jordan, and awkwardness ensues as Jordan begins paying more attention to Luca and less to Amina. Indeed, the two boys' friendship deepens when Jordan kisses Luca, and they begin a clandestine relationship. But can it remain a secret? Debut author Madden manages his significant emotional content with admirable aplomb and his plot with verve, offering keen insights into his empathic characters' lives. The result? An altogether lovely book that comes highly recommended.

With one wrong move, the dreams of an aspiring ballet dancer shatter--along with the bones in his foot--leaving him lost as he tries to recover. For Luca Mason, an Australian boy living in Ballarat, Victoria, ballet was more than his future career. Dancing is his whole identity--or was. One fall down the stairs later, Luca must let go of his goal of attending the exclusive Australian Ballet School, and he also loses the performing arts scholarship at his private high school. As he struggles to find his balance at a new school, the weight of his past and the unstable ground of a secret relationship threaten to knock him off his feet again. Forced into taking a new perspective, Luca reexamines his standards for friendship as he finds himself unexpectedly drawn to another outcast, academic superstar Amina Ahmad, an Indonesian Australian hijabi who welcomes him into her life. He also becomes more mindful of his White privilege. Luca's relationship with popular jock and high school royalty Jordan Tanaka-Jones, who is Japanese and (implied) White Australian, explores toxic masculinity and questioning one's sexuality. The first-person narration strikes a balance between Luca's brooding introspection and character development demonstrated through his changed behavior. A reflective, romantic, and emotional coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.