Ana is 12 and has grown up in the fishbowl of an ice rink, training for Olympic figure skating, her every move on the ice captured on video, plastered on posters, and picked apart by her coach and fans. And everyone's a critic.
She's finally achieved the skill level necessary to reach for the gold, which means her mom pays thousands for a choreographer -- and to have a particular dress made for Ana's ice-routine. Something the judges will like. Something the judges expect. When she's skating to Tchaikovsky's R&J.
She agrees to teach in exchange for no-cost time on the ice to practice. One of her students has changed their pronouns and transitioned to a different gender. It opens worlds of possibilities for Ana. When Ana's on the ice, the dress just feels wrong. Ana isn't sure she wants to embody the judges' expectations. Or anyone's expectations, for that matter. And finally it's like a lightbulb goes off. The transgender student sees Ana as a boy, and Ana definitely doesn't want the world to see and think of Ana as a girl, in a princess dress, dancing on the ice to the music. Ana wants … Ana isn't sure what. But the dress no longer fits Ana, no matter how much it cost or how tailored it is.
Unfortunately, along the way to this realization, Ana hurts an awful lot of people, including her best friend who's not Olympic figure skating material but has stuck by Ana's side for years. She feels like Ana's cast her aside for friends who are a better fit in Ana's bigger, grander Olympic aspirations. Ana apologizes for hurting her BF's feelings, and although Ana ultimately decides to use the she/her pronouns for a while longer, at the end of the book Ana learns her BF and mom don't really care what pronouns Ana uses. They're willing to do whatever Ana asks, because they love Ana. Period.
And the dress? Ah, read and find out what Ana and the BF plan to do to it. It's a great ending!
