Here’s what people have to say about the novels of Terez Mertes Rose…
Ballet Orphans
“A stimulating and entertaining tale in which passion and art intermingle.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Terez Mertes Rose makes dancers of us all. She ushers us behind the scenes of the gritty and glamorous world of ballet and captivates us with a story that is ultimately about universal themes of loss, hope, belonging, and what makes a family. I took up residence in the pages of this book and didn’t want to leave.” — Kelly Mustian, author of The Girls in the Stilt House
“In this compelling prequel to her Ballet Theatre Chronicles series, Rose once again immerses us in the fascinating, inner workings of a professional ballet company. Concurrently, the issues of loss and the search for family are beautifully and tenderly addressed. The unique personalities among the characters are depicted so clearly, they seemed like real people to me. I missed them when the story ended. A powerful, engaging read you won’t soon forget.” — Grace Harstad, author of Invisible Woman: a Birth Mother’s Memoir
“Terez Mertes Rose’s descriptive writing leaps off of the page and takes you on a journey through protagonist April Manning’s eyes. I could identify with her struggles and achievements and I rooted for her along the way. A recommended read for all, dancer and non-dancer alike.” — Lauren Jonas, Artistic Director, Diablo Ballet
“Under conditions of unrelenting minute-to-minute competition in an art form brutally monetized at the box office, male dancers and artistic directors become protagonist April Manning’s enablers onstage, and potential disablers in life. In the absence of an actual family, this fraught configuration of artists and business-savvy angle-shooters, becomes hers, with all attendant “family values” at work. Whether your remove comes from the vantage point of two-to-six degrees of separation or you are the dancer who has lived this ‘What I Did For Love’ experience, you’ll find that Rose’s every chapter could be a lusty, gusty, entry in and into your very own diary.” — Toba Singer, author of Fernando Alonso, the Father of Cuban Ballet and First Position: a Century of Ballet Artists
“What I love about Terez Mertes Rose’s novels are her achingly relatable characters and their complex fully-realized relationships. No matter the setting in the ballet world, Africa, or even the early 90s of Ballet Orphans, I quickly fall into the rhythm of her narrative and enjoy the ride.” — Leigh Purtill, author (as Cat Jordan) of Eight Days on Planet Earth
A Dancer's Guide to Africa
“Vivid prose and rapt evocations of the African surroundings make this story come alive.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Hilarious and poignant, with a frank, observant narrator who seems forever on the outside looking in, and all the more lovable and relatable for that.” — Sarah Bird, bestselling author of The Yokota Officers Club and Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen
“Terez Mertes Rose knows dancing. She can make us feel its soulful allure. And in A Dancer’s Guide To Africa she captures the wonder, the culture divide, the longing and loneliness of being an outsider in the nation of Gabon. Better still, she delivers a cast of characters and a story that holds our attention from beginning to end. With this novel, Terez Mertes Rose, a savvy, insightful and entertaining writer, has come into her own. — John Dalton, award-winning author of Heaven Lake
“Rich with the smells, sounds, sights and culture of Africa, this novel takes us on an exquisite journey, through the eyes of a ballet dancer turned Peace Corps volunteer. A Dancer’s Guide to Africa is at once funny and dark, and superbly nuanced.” — Marika Brussel, choreographer and former dancer
“A textured, sensuous, coming-of-age story that had me turning pages until the very end. I could almost hear the drums and see the firelight as I followed these believably drawn characters through their cultural and romantic escapades in this wonderful novel.” — Anne Clermont, author of Learning to Fall
“Terez Mertes Rose has drawn on her considerable passions—dance, music, and storytelling—to take readers on a sometimes mystical and often suspenseful journey. The spiritual, visceral, and sensory-laden beauty of Gabon was a believable and riveting backdrop for this touching story of a women discovering her truth and power. A Dancer’s Guide to Africa commanded my attention from the first page to the last sentence.” -– Jennifer Haupt, award-winning author of In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills
Outside the Limelight
Book 2 of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles
Named a *Best Book of 2017″ by Kirkus Reviews
“A lovely and engaging tale of sibling rivalry in the high-stakes dance world.” — Kirkus Reviews (Starred review; a Kirkus Indie Books of the Month Selection for January 2017)
“Balanchine said dance is music made visible; Terez Mertes Rose’s Outside the Limelight is dance made readable. She reveals both the beauty of ballet and its pain in a compelling, deftly written novel that unfolds like a series of perfectly executed chaîné turns. Not to be missed!” — Tasha Alexander, NYT bestselling author of A Terrible Beauty
“From the theater’s spotlights and shadows comes a nuanced drama of pain and beauty without one false note. I didn’t want it to end!” — Kathryn Craft, award-winning author of The Art of Falling and The Far End of Happy
“Outside the Limelight sweeps us backstage, through the wings, past the dressing rooms, and into the lives of its dancers, where we see them up close, flawed and beautiful.” — Adrienne Sharp, bestselling author of The True Memoirs of Little K and White Swan, Black Swan
“Readers will relish this fresh, enlightened insider’s look at two talented dancer sisters beset by professional rivalry & bound by love. This glowing novel is full of heart. Enchanting.” — Sari Wilson, award-winning author of Girl Through Glass
“Outside the Limelight pulls readers into the lives of two sisters, both professional ballerinas. Through their challenges, obstacles and triumphs we are reminded that life is a complicated yet wondrous journey, and that love–artistic, romantic and familial–is one of the strongest forces of all.” — Zippora Karz, former soloist, New York City Ballet, author of The Sugarless Plum and Ballerina Dreams
Off Balance
Book 1 of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles
“A refreshing and gritty story about friendships, dreams, and life. The reason why this story works on so many levels is the author’s ability to create characters that ring true. Terez Mertes Rose delves deep into her characters’ back story to show how they really are: human and flawed. While her characters are off balance, Rose has balanced her novel perfectly.” — Self-Publishing Review, 5 Stars
“Terez Mertes Rose writes with an urgency that keeps us reading long past our bedtimes.” — Dance Advantage
“Any readers who have ever grappled to find the courage to strengthen or to soften, to embrace a dream or to let go of one, will find themselves rooting for the two willful, yet wounded, protagonists in Terez Mertes Rose’s edgy debut, Off Balance. I loved this exquisitely written, fast-paced novel from the first page to the last.” — Sandra Kring, bestselling author of The Book of Bright Ideas
“The demands of the stage–or memories of it–bring two lifelong dancers into an unlikely friendship that helps them face their respective breaking points. Powerfully rendered, sensuously artistic and hauntingly beautiful, OFF BALANCE is on track to become one of my favorite reads of the year.” — Tara Staley, author of Need to Breathe and Conditions are Favorable
“Any reader, dancer or otherwise, will find the nuances of life and the dynamics of human frailties intricately woven into this spectacular novel, a symbiotic relationship, much like partners in a beautiful dance.” — C.J. Anaya, author of The Healing Series