Promise of Moonstone — Pat Engebrecht

Kristina's world is centered on her dancing. A ballet student who plans a future as a professional dancer, Kristina is influenced greatly by Annya, her mother, teacher, and her dancing companion. The sixteen-year-old and her mother, who looks more like a sister, are close and competitive. Suddenly their private world is shattered; Annya is crippled in an accident. She will never walk, much less dance again. Kristina refuses to accept the inevitable. Alienating herself from her mother and father, she is forced to seek out new friends and interests. At school she becomes allied with Jill, the new girl, whose American-Indian heritage makes her distinct from others in the class; Jill feels different, as does Kristina. The two girls grow close, sharing their thoughts, their dreams, their fears. Viewing the world through another person's eyes and experiences, Kristina begins to see how narrow her life was. Although she wants to commit herself to ballet, she recognizes that parts of her life, and of those around her, will be constantly changing. Because she took her mother's tragedy personally, Kristina cannot understand her parent's pain,only her own. As Kristina begins to grow, both as a person and as a dancer, she comes to understand the true meaning of commitment, as she learns to trust her friends, her family and herself.