Drina Ballet Series #2 Drina's Dancing Year

Drina Adams auditions at the Igor Dominick Ballet School and wins herself a place as a student.  At the school, Drina makes friends with a girl named Rose.  Drina also makes a few enemies, but only because the girls are jealous of her.

She goes to stay with her old friend Jenny Pilgrim, and Jenny is as supportive as ever.  Drina's greatest hope is to be chosen to dance in the Christmas Pantomime, but her teachers have an even nicer surprise in store for her.

The above summary is from the publisher. 

I do tend to skim a small amount when Drina mentions a particular ballet and its story.  That doesn't mean anything to me, but fortunately, those passages aren't very long.

Drina decided at the end of the previous book to keep her mother's identity a secret.  Drina wants to succeed or fail on her own merit and not because her mother was the famous ballerina, Elizabeth Ivory.

As I read the second book, I reflected upon what an intense, high-strung girl Drina is.  I can relate to that, since I have always been a bit high-strung, less so now that I'm on a beta blocker as well as thyroid replacement hormone.  So, I understand Drina quite well and find her intensity to be fascinating.  

I reflected about how good of a friend Jenny Pilgrim is.  Jenny and Drina are very different, but they understand and support each other. 

Drina's rivals are actually sane.  In the Stratemeyer properties, the rivals tend to be a bit mentally unbalanced.  Obvious examples are Lettie Briggs from the Dana Girls series and Ethel Eaton from the Kay Tracey series.  Drina's rivals just make mean remarks and snub Drina.  You know, normal stuff that mean girls do, rather than the psychotic and criminal behavior of the Stratemeyer rivals.  

This book is excellent.