Carlisle Martin dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer like her mother Isabel. She only gets to see her father Robert, and his brilliant but troubled partner James, for a few precious weeks a year when she visits their enchanted apartment in Greenwich Village. James educates her in all that he holds dear in life: literature, music, and most of all, dance. As the years go by, Carlisle is desperate to be asked to stay permanently, even as AIDS brings devastation to their community. Instead, a passionate love affair creates a rift between them, with devastating consequences that reverberate for decades to come. Nineteen years later, Carlisle receives a phone call which unravels the fateful events of her life . . .
They’re Going to Love You is a gripping and gorgeously written novel of heartbreaking intensity. With psychological precision and a masterfully revealed secret at its heart, it asks what it takes to be an artist, and the price of forgiveness, of ambition, and of love.
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Meg Howrey’s writing is so intricate and beautiful, just like a graceful ballerina in her story. Complex personalities shape throughout the book, and their effects on others’ lives from grudges held for too long. Heartbreakingly mesmerising. Kylie, NSW, 5 Stars
The grace and discipline of ballet is the backdrop to Meg Howrey’s “They’re Going to Love You”. But does this grace and discipline also determine the way people in the ballet world conduct their personal relationships? Carlisle’s parents met during their early years performing ballet but parted ways when she was young. Carlisle is 10 in 1983, her father 52 and his companion James 41, when she visits them. This was the trip when Carlisle grew up. Carlisle’s relationship with James is complex. At a very young age, she had developed a strong connection with him; what was the main attraction when visiting her father’s house? Was it visiting her father or James, or the house itself as a symbol of a different world, an escape? The complexity is in Carlisle’s statement “My father and I are quiet because he’s not a big talker and I’m saving conversation for James.” The tragedy and sorrow of the AIDs epidemic deeply affects James. This effect explores the fragility of inherited mental health, the triggers, reactions and the power of love. It is the dance of relationships with love, denial, aloofness, betrayal and acceptance which makes this book a powerful read. Merilyn, WA, 5 Stars
I couldn’t put this book down. It had everything I love in a story. Love, loss, redemption and a fascinating insight into the world of ballet. The narrator, Carlisle, is the most believable daughter, aching for the love of a father, who is distant both by miles and his ability to really connect with a daughter he rarely sees. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time. Lynda, SA, 5 Stars
What a wonderful story! I loved this book and thoroughly recommend it. Carlisle hasn’t spoken to her father in 19 years, then she gets a phone call to tell her that he is dying…. What follows is an exploration of relationships, life and love and how we try to make sense of it all and stay true to ourselves. It is about following your dreams and dealing with the reality of failure and how the people we love the most are the hardest to forgive. Meg Howrey’s prose is beautiful, the characters are fantastically flawed but so relatable. The descriptions are vivid and so real, you feel like you are living in New York during the AIDS crisis or Los Angeles in 2016 and the transitions between the two time periods are seamless. The constant throughout the book is the world of classical ballet. Howrey’s knowledge of and reverence for the world of ballet is evident. Each character’s commitment to their art is obvious but their motivations and ambitions are very different. If you enjoy ballet, you will love this book, if you don’t, I still think you will enjoy the story, it’s brilliant. Debbie, NSW, 5 Stars
A harrowing tale about life, love and family. This beautifully told tale of family dynamics is entwined with the world of ballet in New York City. Spanning across decades, the story of a daughter and her fractured relationship with her father was eloquently told, it was precise and thought-provoking. The language was concise. Straight to the punch and it hit the mark. The AIDS epidemic in New York City in the 80s played an important role in this story and it really helped set the scene and the background of how it changed some of the characters in this story. I want to read this again and again and tell all book lovers I know to read this. It’s a story that deserves to be read. Tayla, VIC, 5 Stars
Everything about this is beautiful – the love, the loss, the pain and the redemption. As every page turns you learn more about the lives interwoven over decades, the words unspoken and the longing to be together. There is not a moment that your mind is not a step ahead trying to pick apart the clues of Carlisle’s life. The backdrop of the ballet is dramatic and evocative. Tina, QLD, 5 Stars
What a superb coming-of-age story this was! Carlisle is the daughter of famed New York ballet dancers Robert and Isabel, whose relationship breaks down shortly after the birth of their daughter. Isabel leaves the world of ballet behind and settled down into a new domesticated life. In her teenage years Carlisle relationship with her father and his partner, James is restarted. This story is set at the height of the AIDS crisis in New York ballet world. It is a tale of determination, failure and duplicity that shatters relationships. This is a coming of age story where you begin to understand Carlisle’s pervasive feelings of being an outsider her whole life and the desperate struggle to want to be part of a family, or to be someone’s number one person. These push pull factors of feeling like an outsider and desperately wanting to be seen and loved led to actions that cause a 19 year long estrangement between Carlisle, her father and James. Only upon her father’s death bed do events come to the forefront again with all involved having to examine their role in perpetuating this estrangement. This was a beautifully written story that captured the grace, beauty and flow that is ballet. I was wowed by Howery’s ability to cultivate deeply flawed characters, in such a short novel. These characters tap into our pervasive desire to belong and matter to others. Howery’s writing style was just delightful to consume! Laura, QLD, 5 Stars
I found this book to be so very real. The story follows the life of Carlisle as she deals with the end of her parent’s marriage and her excitement as a child of getting to stay with her father and his partner but then finding out that her father is gay and the fear that comes along with that as AIDS takes so many lives. Carlisle ends up struggling with her relationship with her mother and then her father and his partner. A guy who she feels is the love of her life just adds to the rocky road of relationships. Set in NY with a background of dance I found that for me Carlisle was easily likable. All the emotions that come along with a family misunderstanding and falling out were very raw and thought-provoking. It makes you questions what is really important and why we can sometimes torture ourselves over things that really are not that important in the end. As I read this book I felt as if I was being told all this information in confidence as a trusted friend and I so badly wanted everything to work out for Carlisle and her family. Annamaree, QLD, 5 Stars
I normally have no problems with writing a book review however, this beautifully written work of art has so many elements that I am finding it difficult. We are taken into the world of Carlisle and her ballet focused, and what I would call, dysfunctional family. Carlisle tries to fit in with her mother and father (both former dancers) who separated during her early years with her father moving on with his gay lover. Part of the story is set during the AIDS crisis in the 90’s but mainly focuses on Carlisle’s relationship with the few people she has let into her life. The story is beautifully written and the characters are described so well that I became part of their lives. In summary, all I can think of is that I didn’t want this story to end. I absolutely loved it! Diane, SA, 5 Stars
They’re Going To Love You is the first novel I have read by author and former professional ballet dancer, Meg Howrey. The story centres around Carlisle Martin, a young ballet dancer during the 1980s and 1990s. Carlisle’s parents are both part of the professional dancing world however, they are no longer together, but Carlisle still spends time with both parents. She soon learns that her father is gay, and he has a new life with his boyfriend James, in New York City. The AIDS crisis is in full swing during this time and affects the people surrounding Carlisle. Thanks to Better Reading and the publisher for my ARC of this novel. Sharah, QLD, 4 Stars
Carlisle is born into an Arts – Ballet – family. Her parents separated when she was young and she lived with her mother. As she was growing up, she would visit her father, and his partner, in New York twice a year. Then there was an incident leading to a 20 year estrangement between Carlisle and her father. It took quite some time in the book to find the reasons for this. She is beckoned back to her father as he becomes ill and is nearing the end of his life. Family dynamics and secrets are at the core of this novel. The setting is the world of ballet and the arts. Whilst it took me a little while to ease into the rhythm of the writing style, it was a good read. The story did move around within different time periods but I liked that the story was told from one perspective only, that of Carlisle – an alternating mix of determination and introspection. And I learnt a little about ballet. Thank you to Better Reading and Bloomsbury for an Advanced Reading Copy to read and review. Indigo, NSW, 4 Stars
“They’re Going to Love You” is a touching story of family and how these complex relationships can really shape a person’s life, for better or worse. Carlisle has always felt like she has to fight to be seen by her mother, a highly accomplished ballerina. Her father, Robert, and his husband, James, are the ones she feels safest with, her “people”. However, in her 20’s Carlisle makes a mistake that causes her father to reject her, and it is not for another 19 years, with Robert on his deathbed, that the two are reunited. Alongside Carlisle’s current story, the past that led to her alienation from her family is explained. Throughout the book there is the ballet, which is almost a character in its own right. And ultimately it is the ballet that is the biggest love of Carlisle’s life. The story is slow-moving, but beautifully written, heartbreaking and uplifting. 4 stars ⭐️ Lee, VIC, 4 Stars
They’re Going To Love You by Meg Howery provides a fascinating insight into the world of dance, through referencing well-known dance companies and choreographers from the 1980/90s. It also provides an honest portrayal of the AIDS crisis and the many misconceptions during this time. Carlisle Martin’s experience at Bank St Residences while visiting her father and James is pivotal in this book, often challenged by having caregivers that are artistic and highly driven. A reflection of the challenges associated with coming of age. A great read. Matilda, QLD, 4 Stars
“They’re Going to Love You” is the book version of a beautiful, turbulent dance, an interweaving of ballet and the fragility of relationships, including family estrangement, forgiveness, resentment, grief and love. The story leaps off the page into the past and the present throughout much of the book and since the book is centered around dance, it does a great job of exemplifying how art can mimic life and vice versa through sickness and health, life and death, and love and pain. Meg Howrey’s writing style is uncomplicated, although there were moments when the story shifts in time and place per main character Carlisle’s memory which could be sudden and a little confusing, resulting in me needing to re-read the former passage over just to centre myself again in the new scene. Overall, though, the changing scenes in the book are very much as I’d imagine a ballet performance on stage to carry out with scenery changes, character growth, and lots of raw emotion that never feels overdone. I most admire the way Meg Howrey, a former ballet dancer herself, juxtapositions ballet as an art form with the lives of the characters themselves. 4 out of 5 stars. Emma, ACT, 4 Stars
This book had such an interesting premise, centered on a young dancer in the New York City ballet world living through the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s. I loved the insight into this time, but particularly found the relationship between Carlisle and her father, and her father’s partner James to be the most engrossing part of the book. The characters were so well drawn and real, and the turn of events that was foreshadowed with a breakdown of their relationship had me rapidly turning the pages. Jacqui, VIC, 4 Stars
This story weaves between forty-three-year-old Carlisle’s present, and snapshots of her life with her father and his partner from the age of ten, encompassing the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, and up until a falling out with her father around the age of twenty-four. The reason for their estrangement of nineteen years is not easily forthcoming, yet, I still found Howrey’s storytelling quite enchanting. The story revolves around the ballet world, and although a different story, reminded me of “The Turning Point” by Arthur Laurents, which I read many times in my teens. I’m unsure if I’ll be seeking out any more of this author’s works, but I certainly did enjoy this and I would recommend it, particularly if stories of ballet or complex family dynamics are of interest in a well-crafted story. Thank you to #BRPreview BetterReading and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. Tracy, VIC, 4 Stars
It is clear to see that Meg Howrey is a former professional ballet dancer in this elegantly choreographed tale of love, life and art. This book pulses with an intensity of introspection and ambition. The first line of the book is ‘Feel what I feel’ and that is exactly what Meg Howrey accomplishes with her character Carlisle, who is surrounded by all expressions of love, none of which seemed to be directed specifically towards her. After Carlisle, James in the character of most interest and sagely or perhaps sourly comments ‘Fragments: They’re all we can have of each other.’ We learn quickly of Carlisle’s estrangement from her father, but we must wait patiently and agonisingly to discover what the inciting incident is. Even when it is revealed, the reader can’t help but feel that Carlisle is the one who has been betrayed and is punished unjustly. It is a relief that Carlisle had one true friend in Freya, and her work which she uses to express and process her feelings. ‘I became a choreographer. It’s the love that outlasted all the others.’ Michelle, VIC, 4 Stars
The book is a well written exploration of relationships, with families and friends, and with all their complexities. Love, forgiveness, and different family compositions along with discussions of life and death, all take place alongside the artistic world of ballet. Carlisle, the main character and narrator of the story takes us back to look at how the current situation arose and, we as readers, join her emotional journey. Annette, SA, 4 Stars
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