They're Going to Love You

They're Going to Love You

Meg Howrey

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

A magnetic tale of betrayal, art, and ambition, set in the world of professional ballet, New York City during the AIDS crisis, and present-day Los Angeles Carlisle Martin dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer just like her mother, Isabel, a former Balanchine ballerina. Since they live in Ohio, she only gets to see her father Robert for a few precious weeks a year when she visits Greenwich Village, where he lives in an enchanting apartment on Bank Street with his partner, James. Brilliant but troubled, James gives Carlisle an education in all that he holds dear in life--literature, music, and most of all, dance. Seduced by the heady pull of mentorship and the sophistication of their lives, Carlisle's aspiration to become a dancer herself blooms, born of her desire to be asked to stay at Bank Street, to be included in Robert and James' world 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, causing her to see with new eyes how her younger self has informed the woman she's become. 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 in America, and the price of forgiveness, of ambition, and of love.


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  • liv_vy
    Mar 09, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

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  • GilaTick
    Mar 28, 2025
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  • bookgang
    Mar 30, 2025
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    If the book Tell the Wolves I'm Home was your favorite coming-of-age story, this is your next best bet. Readers will fall in love with this poignant narrative gracefully unfurling across several decades, serving as a heartfelt tribute to New York City and the lives tragically affected by the AIDS crisis.

    In this captivating novel, we follow the story of Carlisle, a young girl who finds her parent's relationship has fractured when her father, Robert, leaves them for his partner James. Both former dancers now live on Bank Street, nestled in the heart of Greenwich Village, where Carlisle and James discover a unique bond outside of their relationship with her father. 

    More than anything, Carlisle's deepest desire is to dance like her mother, a nearly famous ballerina. Still, her towering height of six feet two inches uniquely challenges her ballet career. Much of the book explores belonging, which Carlisle struggles with in every aspect of her life. She never feels wholly connected to the dance community, split between her two homes, constantly searching for love and acceptance from partners, and never finding her place. 

    In the present timeline, Carlisle, now in her 40s and a successful choreographer, grapples with the estrangement from her father until she learns of his impending death, prompting a long-awaited revelation of the underlying reasons for their separation. The perceived betrayal unfolds as Robert, James, and Carlisle learn more about one another.

    Drawing upon her experience as a professional dancer, Howrey skillfully weaves a narrative that oscillates between the past and present, immersing us in the 1980s New York City during the devastating AIDS Crisis, and bringing to life the dance community effected.

    This slim literary fiction novel, at just under 300 pages, was just what I had been craving for my book stack. While the reason for their estrangement was less developed than I would have liked, the descriptive choreographed language is why I stuck around. If you have a dancer lurking inside you, you'll love these imagined choreographed dances and behind-the-scenes dance dramas. 

     

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