Toe to Toe (On Pointe Book 1) by Penelope Freed (comprehension books txt) 📗

in 2014 and it’s been quite the journey to get here. We’ve grown up together, Hannah, Olivia, Lisa, Katy and I. And now here you are, joining our little squad. If you’re reading this, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing my story to be part of your life.

There are so many people who have helped to get me here that I need to thank. Alina Lane for creating the RWR group and for being my cheerleader and ass kicker. Lasairona McMaster for taking me under her wing and pushing me or cheering me on as needed. Stella, Tamara, Robyn, Claire, Norma, Breanna, Hattie, Bellamy, and all my fellow RWR authors, thank you for being on this roller coaster with me, holding my hand when I needed it, laughing with me on our ridiculous Zoom calls, and helping me do this crazy thing in the middle of this crazy time.

A huge thanks to my amazing editors Caitlin Fitzgerald and Sax Gray who made this book better than it had any right to be. You pushed me to make this story the best it could be and I am so grateful I found you! All mistakes are my own, don’t blame those two lovely ladies for my comma catastrophes.

So many people in my life have encouraged me to tell my stories: Melissa, Patti, Daniel, Brody, Katy, Ryan, Dianne, Sheryl and Dr. Phelps. My amazing parents, who read to us every night after dinner, and didn’t yell at me for staying up late reading all summer long. Thank you for your words of encouragement, your support, and for the courage to pursue this dream. My amazing husband is my #1 cheerleader, my rock, my champion. Thank you for always having my back, I couldn’t do this without you babe.

And lastly, I can’t write this book without acknowledging my inspiration—my beautiful daughter and my former students. All you kids out there who are ready to change the world, I wrote this book for you. So you know deep in your souls that you are seen and that you matter. You are worthy of love. I see you. Keep kicking ass and being better than the generations before you.

About the Author

Penelope Freed lives in the Pacific Northwest where you can find her learning how to drive in the rain, walking her dog and making a mess in the kitchen. Her husband and daughter think she’s a little bit bonkers and really hate it when she dances embarrassingly in public.

Which she does, often.

After a lifetime in the ballet world, Penelope decided to start writing down the stories in her head instead of narrating her ballet classes with them—her former students are very thankful for this decision. Now, Penelope writes stories about dreamers, just like she is, who are willing to do whatever it takes to make those dreams come true.