Review of The Dancing Queen

[Christell Lindeque]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dancing Queen" by Asianna Frierson.]

---

1 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Asianna Frierson's novel "The Dancing Queen" narrates the tale of Shaniqua, an expected basketball player whose true passion lies in dancing. Unfortunately, her mother does not agree with her decision to pursue dancing, while her father is working hard to ensure that his daughter is content. The second story, on the other hand, is about Angela and Mike, who are struggling with problems in their marriage, including a mother-in-law who has a strong disdain for Angela and is attempting to force them apart.

Unfortunately, there were times when the writing of this book was really difficult to understand. I couldn't understand why the author combined the two distinct storylines into one time line, as they had no connection to each other. In addition, the author focused on a number of other characters; however, these individuals had little to do with the story's progression. Throughout the narrative, the topic of pregnancy keeps coming up from time to time. This book also mentions aspects of abuse and angry outbursts.

In my opinion, the writing style is not suitable for me because the majority of the story is summarised, which causes you to become disengaged from the narrative. Even so, this might not bother some of the other readers. The chapter's near-total containment within a single paragraph and its abrupt transition between the first and second stories without a scene break presented another issue.

In my view, hiring an editor would be beneficial for this book, not only for the previously mentioned reasons but also due to the significant number of errors it contains. It would be a mistake for the author to give up just yet, because the ideas are not at all terrible, and she should continue writing stories. Additionally, separating the two stories would have made them easier to read, as they had no connection to each other. However, this is what I would have preferred, and other readers may have a different opinion.

It is going to have to receive a rating of one out of five stars from me. As a result of the numerous mistakes, I deducted one point. The fact that there were not many paragraphs was another reason why I subtracted a point; because of this, I was unable to take a break whenever I felt the need to. The author made multiple deviations from the primary plot, which is another reason why I removed one point. Also, because there were no scene breaks, I was unable to keep up with the changing scenes, resulting in the deduction of the fourth point. I liked the author's ideas; it was just the writing execution that I disliked.

I would suggest this book to young adults, because of the straightforward nature of the writing and the fact that it deals with mature topics such as pregnancy, abuse, and marital problems, if the above-mentioned concerns were to be addressed. 

******
The Dancing Queen
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[williams Emerald]

This novel presents two intriguing storylines but struggles with clarity and cohesion, making it challenging to engage fully with the characters journeys. A clearer structure and editing could enhance the reading experience significantly. Despite these issues, the themes addressed are compelling and hold potential for a strong narrative if better executed.