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Blog Tour: Turning by Joy L. Smith (Interview!)

Posted March 1, 2022 by Kaity in Book Tours, Interviews / 1 Comment

Blog Tour: Turning by Joy L. Smith (Interview!)

Happy Tuesday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for TURNING! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Joy L. Smith to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it!

Blog Tour: Turning by Joy L. Smith (Interview!)Turning by Joy L. Smith
Published on March 1, 2022 by Denene Millner Books/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 352
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads

Genie used to fouetté across the stage. Now the only thing she’s turning are the wheels to her wheelchair. Genie was the star pupil at her exclusive New York dance school, with a bright future and endless possibilities before her. Now that the future she’s spent years building toward has been snatched away, she can’t stand to be reminded of it—even if it means isolating herself from her best friends and her mother. The only wish this Genie has is to be left alone.
But then she meets Kyle, who also has a “used to be.” Kyle used to tumble and flip on a gymnastics mat, but a traumatic brain injury has sent him to the same physical therapist that Genie sees. With Kyle’s support, along with her best friend’s insistence that Genie’s time at the barre isn’t over yet, Genie starts to see a new path—one where she doesn’t have to be alone and she finally has the strength to heal from the past.
But healing also means confronting. Confronting the booze her mother, a recovering alcoholic, has been hiding under the kitchen sink; the ex-boyfriend who was there the night of the fall and won’t leave her alone; and Genie’s biggest, most terrifying secret: the fact that the accident may not have been so accidental after all.

What would you do if you spent the day with Genie? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?

Genie and I would most definitely go see some live performances of some sort. So either a ballet or a Broadway show. We’d go pretty low key and eat at a diner and then get some cookies from Schmackary’s bakery.

If Genie were to hang out with characters from other books, who would they be and why?

She’d hang out with fellow Ballerina, Theo from Pointe. They’d have a lot to talk about from their friends and of course being Black ballerinas. As well as they both have pretty traumatic pasts, so it seems natural that they’d see a bit of each other in themselves.

If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?

To see the show Roman and Jewel from Roman and Jewel! Who doesn’t love a good Broadway musical?

If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?

One of my many Playbill binders because they bring me Joy and really snapshot a specific period of time of live entertainment. My book TURNING because why not! And my Waitress musical hoodie because maybe it’ll be of some use to somebody.

What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?

In Vaganova’s teachings it’s okay to not become a full time dancer, if a dancer falls behind it’s encouraged to teach and become a choreographer. It’s embedded in the story, but not so much stated as a fact.

What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Turning?

I feel like this changes the more I think about it, but I love the moment where Genie and Kyle, her very new friend, holds her hand to comfort her when she’s hurt and uncomfortable. Because up to that point she keeps him at arm’s length, but when she lets him touch her there’s a shift in Genie.

About Joy L. Smith

Joy L. Smith is a childcare professional and lives in Queens, New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, she has a bachelor’s degree in human development and differences, with a specialization in communication disorders. She’s been writing since she was a teenager and has been mentored by Ibi Zoboi, Radha Blank, and Emma Straub through the Girls Write Now program. Turning is her debut novel.

What do you think about Turning? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!

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