Review: Abbi's book will both break your heart and fill it with hope.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 3, 2014
I am in love with Emma's The Game series, so when I saw she was writing Abbi's book I could hardly contain my excitement! We met her briefly in the first book, as she is Maddie's best friend, and your heart couldn't help but break for her, as she was institutionalized, after attempting suicide. Abbi's story is both heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time, and I'm glad Hart was not afraid to dive into such a difficult topic. This book is realistic and shows you the effects depression has on Abbi, as well as her fight to overcome it.However, Abbi was fortunate enough to have such amazing people in her life to support her. Ultimately, she was the only one who could pull herself out of the darkness, but her family and friends were there for her every time she felt herself slipping and I'm really proud of Abbi for seeking out help when she needed it. Abbi's love of dance is also what motivated her to get better, as she wants to attend Juilliard. Her passion for dance and the release it brings is so evident in this book and I thought Emma did a brilliant job of giving life to Abbi's dreams."Dance is the one thing that keep me up. It's the one thing I let myself feel; it's the one thing that is truly real to me. It's the only thing that's allowed to get past the wolves and climb my walls."When we first meet Abbi in this book, she is in the midst of dying her hair. Abbi wants nothing more to do with the girl she once was because it makes her feel weak. She hates that she let that weakness consume her and she wants nothing more to forget that life. However, forgetting is not the answer. She can't change what happened to her or the person she once was- instead if she hopes to move on, she has to come to terms with everything and go from there. It's not something that will just happen overnight- it will be a step by step, day by day kind of thing until finally she can look back with resolution and understand that she is stronger now because of what happened.One of the people will help her take it day by day is Blake. I absolutely loved Blake's character. He has his own demons that haunt him, but he can relate to Abbi in a way not many others can. He is also a dancer, and the two end up paired together to perform a couples dance, which leads them to spend a lot of time together. I think it's important that they became friends first, because Abbi is in no way ready for a relationship. While Abbi is not unfriendly, she does keep herself closed off to others. She is skittish in big groups and populated settings. Blake zones in on her that first day at dance and sees the haunted look that she desperately tries to hide and he recognizes it, as it is not the first time he's seen it.Abbi unknowingly shares bits and pieces of herself with Blake, as she takes him to her favorite places in the city. He is very observant of her and recognizes a familiarity in her that makes him want to get to know her and be there for her. It takes Abbi quite a bit of time to trust Blake, as she is afraid of how he makes her feel and what that could potentially mean for her."You have to dance the way you fall in love; effortlessly, unrelentingly, and with everything you have."Their passion for dance is what brings them together and offers them both healing and the persistence to move forward. While Abbi and Blake have some amazing sexual tension, this is not an overly steamy book. Instead, it focuses on much deeper issues and I believe Emma paced their relationship beautifully and I don't think it would have been as realistic if she had done it any other way.In my opinion, The Right Moves is Emma's most emotional, in depth novel to date. Abbi's journey is not one to be taken lightly and watching her evolve and go after what she wants is truly inspiring and I encourage everyone to pick this book up.