When It All Syncs Up by Maya Ameyaw tackles a wide range of serious issues in a compact YA novel. It explores topics like racism, homophobia, bullying, disordered eating, and the intense pressures of pursuing the arts. The story centers on Aisha, a talented ballet dancer facing discrimination and mental health challenges at her elite academy. When she transfers to her best friend Neil’s art school, she’s confronted with similar issues of racism and bullying, while also dealing with past traumas, parental neglect, and strained friendships. Amidst all of this, she’s trying to navigate her identity and career path, find her footing in a new relationship, and grapple with anxiety, depression, and dissociation.

Though the book effectively highlights mental and physical wellness in the arts, its brevity comes at the cost of deeper character development. Aisha, Neil, and their friend Ollie all face significant challenges, but there isn’t enough room in 280 pages to explore them fully. While When It All Syncs Up opens up important discussions on these topics, it sometimes falls into the common YA trope of romantic love being the "cure" for trauma and mental illness, which can send an unrealistic and potentially harmful message to young readers.

Despite its flaws, Ameyaw’s debut provides a compelling narrative for teens interested in realistic fiction that doesn’t shy away from tough topics, particularly those with an interest in the arts. Aisha’s journey to reclaim her sense of self and make peace with her past is an important one, and the book’s exploration of systemic challenges in the dance world will resonate with young artists.

I wasn't in love with this book. I understood the message the author was trying to convey, but she turned down so many avenues that it was mental overstimulation. Some of the topics she touched on dealt with peer pressure, alcoholism, racism, microaggression, body dysmorphia, and parental pressure. Many problems were presented, and I felt that when we were about to dive deep into one of the subjects, Ameyaw switched it up and went to the next issue. With that being said, you can take this as a mental health kind of book.

Aside from the mental health issues, I wasn't tuned in with the characters either. I wish that the author delved more into the main character, Aisha. It felt surface level and not cave-deep diving.

It was an okay story, not particularly outstanding.

As far as the narrator goes, I liked her. She gave a convincing teenage voice and told the story in a pleasant way

I liked this book a lot! I liked the storyline and the characters too. I enjoyed it! I hope to read more by this author in the future. The cover is beautiful!

I had a very hard time getting into this book. It was not the vibe I was expecting and just didn’t resonate with me. I was bummed because I had been really looking forward to this title. I am looking forward to the authors next book.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It is an engaging story of teen dancers and artists dealing with the pressure to perform in their fields. A lot of mental health topics are discussed in realistic ways, and while there is a bit of romance, thankfully this is NOT one of those terrible novels where True Love fixes everything.

I had a bit of a hard time mustering enough suspension of disbelief that all of these character's parents are just completely out of the picture. Who lets two 17-year-olds live by themselves for months on end? But despite that aspect of the story, I thought it was a really enjoyable read that deals well with difficult topics of teen mental health and alcohol use.

♡ Audiobook Review ♡
3.5 stars.
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•Ya
•Black Female Lead
•Ballet Dancer
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The audiobook was done very well. The narrator did a great job with this one. I did kinda struggle with the storyline and having it keep my attention. So of the stuff I was kinda side eyeing the character, well mostly the parents of the characters. But other than that, I enjoyed it.
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Thank you, Netgalley, for the ALC audiobook for my honest review.

At the age of 16, ballet is Aisha's life. She is gifted ballerina trying to earn a spot in a prestigious ballet academy. Though hopeful to earn a spot as a lead, flawless performance, quite confident, the one thing Aisha is missing is the one thing she can't change, "the look."

Aisha, a Black teenager with a passion to dance, gifted, skilled and talented but none of that matters when you do not look the part. Her skin alone disqualifies her regardless of how talented she may be. Navigating through racism, mental health, bullying, relational matters, will Aisha ever realize her dream becoming an accepted dancer?

I enjoyed the debut but believed at times the book dragged a bit. I absolutely loved the infusion of mental health, teenage drama, and diversity but believe that thematically the subtopics could have stood on their own. All of this author's subtopics are so important and I am thankful for the author's boldness and overall writing. In reading the book, I felt like I needed to choose between whether I wanted to follow the character's challenge with racism, the infusion of mental health, or the broken relationships.

Overall, this was. nice debut. Thank you Netgalley, Annick Audio, and Maya Ameyaw for providing me with a copy of this ALC in exchange for my honest review. I will look for part 2 in this series in hopes to continue reading about these characters,

This book is so necessary for intermediate/senior level students and made me wish there was a middle grade version for my daughter. There is so little talk about the harms of Eurocentric standards in the world of dance and so little representation for Black ballerinas and so having a text that explored the cost of trying to fit in from a Black perspective was so poignant and meaningful.

This was an odd book in that it covered some very intense/triggering topics yet was also categorized as middle school level. This book was too inmature at times to be considered a Young Adult book and covered some very mature and potentially triggering points to be considered Middle School. This is the reason I only gave it 3 stars. I felt it needed to choose a lane and stay in it.

Really enjoyed the take on deeper topics using the art of dance. While at times it felt so deep, the story remained so easy to get into and kept me listening. I look forward to more from the author.

The audiobook, "When It All Syncs Up" by Maya Ameyaw is a compelling coming-of-age story that follows the journey of a teenage ballerina named Aisha as she navigates through issues of racial discrimination and other challenges in a new performing arts school. The story is narrated by Max Amani, whose superb narration brings the story to life in a beautiful and truly authentic way, allowing readers to easily connect to Aisha's world and see things from her perspective.

One of the highlights of the book is the narration, which captures the emotional depth and complex nature of Aisha's story. Through Max Amani's skillful narration, we are able to empathize with Aisha’s struggles and she becomes incredibly real and relatable.

More importantly,, the author, Maya Ameyaw, does a commendable job of crafting a story that is very engaging. The resounding themes of identity, resilience, and the power of pursuing one's passion shine through in the story. While Aisha deals with obstacles and prejudices, her journey towards self-discovery and empowerment is inspiring and well written.

"When It All Syncs Up" is a novel that tackles important themes with grace and sensitivity. with its powerful storytelling and beautiful narration, the book offers a very compelling reading experience.

This book, will hands down be one of my favorites for 2024. This book was poignant, beautiful, heartbreaking and moving and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it a few weeks ago. Maya has a way of writing where it feels so very real and when I was reading, it felt like it was a memoir. The writing was so well done and then I found out she was a debut author which is even more incredible.

Please be sure to check trigger warnings before reading this one. The mental health rep in this book was so beautiful and it was so refreshing to witness the journies that these characters went through and the struggles that they faced. I truly got an inside look at Aisha’s character from her POV. The story deals with many difficult topics including but not limited to racism, body dysmorphia and disorders, sexuality, addictions and more. They are handled with honesty and raw realism.

This will be one of my top books this year, hands down.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you for the opportunity to read When it All Syncs Up. It was really good and the narrator did a great job. There was a lot of heavy topics that were handled well. Looking forward to reading more from Maya Ameyaw.

Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Audio for the audio ARC of this. I loved how When It All Syncs Up handles all of the difficult issues it talks about. I also love how the characters mental health is handled. The writing in this is so beautiful and powerful. I’m so excited for the next book in this series.

Racism, bullying, eating disorders, mental health: what doesn't this story tackle? I loved this story set against the backdrop of competitive dance. This was a well done book with well developed characters. I'll seek out future books written by Maya Ameyaw!

Very well done story of the challenges of family life, friendships and the pressures in the dance world. Narrator was amazing. There were some heavy topics that were very well discussed for a young adult book. That being said, there are many trigger warnings readers should be aware of. I appreciated the authors note about this at the beginning

When it all syncs up
I love that this book exists. I do need to say that I am a white woman, so I encourage you to read other reviews to see more opinions from Black readers.

I love when YA books tackle serious issues. This book has (content warnings to follow): racism, alcohol, eating disorders, body shaming, and wrought parental relationships, to name a few. That said, this book tackles each with grace and delivers a beautiful story.

This book covers a range of important topics facing youth in today’s society. It handles these topics beautifully. I love how it emphasizes getting the appropriate professional help, while still explaining the internal struggle associated with such a process. The romantic subplot was simply the cutest and I loved seeing their connection blossom. I think this is a perfectly written coming of age book!

This was a really good book about growing up and diversity and learning to be yourself it also dealt with eating disorder and what surrounds that it was well written and I enjoyed it very much I would recommend this book for anyone who is the young person learning to be what they're supposed to be it was a good and captivating story about young love and learning to be yourself