Aisha Bimi is a young dancer brimming with passion and promise; but at her exclusive ballet boarding school, she faces constant anti-Black racism. Denied opportunity after opportunity simply for “not looking the part,” Aisha seeks out a new path back home in Toronto. There, she tries to find her footing at a local arts high school. With her childhood best friend Neil struggling with addiction issues, and the uncertainty of her future in dance, pressure builds on Aisha. When It All Syncs Up is a thoughtful, delicate illustration of the pivotal stage in which a teenager steps off the blueprint of childhood into the unknown.

The novel offers a complex portrayal of two realities: that of a Black ballet dancer in a historically discriminatory field, and that of a teen establishing her identity. Readers drawn in by the coming-of-age tale will leave with far more than they bargained for. Author Maya Ameyaw deftly interweaves relationship threads with the art of ballet and modern dance.

As Aisha navigates her own mental-health challenges, bullying, and a budding romance with her new neighbour, Ollie, the unspoken is conveyed through vivid descriptions of performances. Each audition, rehearsal, and showcase is sketched out in pulse-pounding detail. Ameyaw’s evocative imagery leaves readers with no questions about the choreography – or the emotional weight of each step.

Throughout the novel, Aisha contends with dance as both art form and obstacle. In each chapter, unspoken pain lingers. Aisha’s fraught relationship with her estranged mother, her struggle with an eating disorder, and the racism and isolation she faces all seem inextricable from the craft she loves. How can she strike a balance between her passion and her well-being? While the characters in the novel are fictional, their difficulties are not. When It All Syncs Up handles these issues with sensitivity and nuance, carefully unfurling each in time.

Although the book sets Aisha’s stage with ballet top of mind, the narrative’s graceful progression reveals far more. In this subtle, poignant contemporary novel, Aisha is tasked with a goal more difficult – and rewarding – than any dance solo: the work of healing.