Dancing Without Music is a young adult coming-of-age story by Angela Grey and Paige Peterson. The book follows the lives of two seventeen-year-old teens, Mia Callan and Milo Chatham. Despite their seemingly humdrum lives, Mia has an eating disorder that prohibits her from living a normal life, while Milo suffers from epileptic seizures, triggering his acute depression and suicidal tendencies. The two teens find kindred souls in each other and soon form a burgeoning relationship based on mutual trust and respect. But their disorders slowly begin to drive a wedge in their relationship, compounded by an incident with Mia at a high school party. Will her friends and family's support be enough for Mia to overcome her terrible trauma? Will Milo and Mia find a way through the darkness? High school life can be hard enough without the additional baggage of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Angela Grey and Paige Peterson delve into some of these topics in this poignant coming-of-age tale about two teenagers trying to navigate love, friendships, and school life in the age of social media and a rapidly changing society. Dancing Without Music is an unflinching look at how vulnerable teenagers become victims to nefarious predators looking for ways to take advantage of their age and naivety. The authors don't shy away from touching upon some increasingly relevant social and mental health issues that can have a lasting effect on youths in their formative years. An engrossing coming-of-age drama that I will recommend to everyone.
