The Still Point started out as deliciously soapy drama about the dancers and dance moms (and one dad!) at a Southern California ballet school, but by the end of it, much of the soapy fun now felt real, and I was legit heartbroken about how things turned out for one of the moms. Alas, due very much to her own choices, which makes it all even more tragic.

The drama starts when famed dancer Etienne Bernay comes to teach at the ballet school. He brings with him a documentary filmmaking team and the promise of a full scholarship to Ballet de Paris for one lucky dancer. All the students are sure the scholarship will go to perennial star pupil Savvy, but from the day Etienne arrives, he seems to have eyes only for Bea, an ethereal and vulnerable natural talent. Drama!

Adding to the popcorn fare is that Bea’s lifelong BFF and fellow dancer Olive no longer speaks to her, all due to an incident on the beach that Bea barely remembers and we only learn the details of much later in the story. Instead, Olive seems to have found a new BFF in Savvy, and neither girl seems inclined to invite Bea to join their social circle.

Then come the moms: Bea’s mom Ever and Olive’s mom Lindsay are BFFs who wish they could fix their daughters’ friendship but have no clue about the reason for the split in the first place. Savvy’s mom Josie is secretly hosting Etienne in her guest house, and worried that Savvy’s chances at the scholarship aren’t quite as set in stone as she initially thought. All three moms have their reasons for believing their daughter needs the scholarship more than the other dancers, but of course, at least two of them will have to deal with the disappointment. The set-up is utterly delightful, and honestly, if this were turned into a mini-series on Prime or Hulu, I would totally be there with my popcorn, devouring all the episodes in a single weekend.

But like I said, the story turned more complicated than I expected; the more I got to know the characters, and especially the moms whose perspectives narrate most of the book (Bea is the only dancer who gets her own chapters), the more I got pulled into their respective worries. Ever is the most obviously sympathetic — her husband (Bea’s father) died a year ago; he was the sole breadwinner and now she has to figure out how to resurrect her short-lived career as a novelist to pay the bills and all the expenses for Bea’s ballet career.

But I found myself more drawn to Lindsay and Josie’s stories. Lindsay has been feeling the distance from her husband Steve for a while, and when she finds a bump ‘down there,’ she fears Steve may be having an affair. As her story unfolds, her fears over Steve cheating eventually shift to her fears about her own emotional responses to the possibility. It’s a gripping exploration of a marriage, and a fantastic depiction of just how subtle the signs of a decline can be.

I also love how their marriage troubles play out in their approaches to Olive’s ballet career. Lindsay is fiercely supportive: she believes in Olive’s potential regardless of what Etienne has to say, and she’s ready to devote as much of her time and energy as Olive needs to go to the auditions and dance schools necessary to make it as a professional dancer. Steve is more pragmatic: Olive is never the lead at her current ballet school, and Etienne’s presence aside, the ballet school doesn’t have a strong track record of churning out superstars. He doesn’t believe Olive has a chance at the scholarship, and wants to make sure she takes the SATs and has a solid backup plan for a different career. Lost among all of this is what Olive herself wants. She seems to be losing interest in ballet, but then Etienne says she dances “like a slug,” so it’s unclear for a lot of the book if she really is losing interest or just her confidence.

Josie’s story starts with having to deal with her husband (and Savvy’s stepfather) leaving her for his much-younger dental hygienist. He owns the house she and Savvy live in, and when he finds out that Etienne is staying at the guest house, he threatens to sell the property the moment Savvy turns 18, never mind where Savvy and Josie go to live afterwards. Selling the property is his legal right as owner, but it’s a horribly cold gesture to his ex-wife and stepdaughter, especially since he’d previously promised to let them stay in the house until Savvy graduates, and then split the proceeds of the sale with Josie.

As Josie’s story unfolds, we learn about her history of being used and betrayed by the men in her life: the modelling scout who dropped her when she got pregnant with Savvy and refused to abort, her first husband who only married her because of Savvy, and now her most recent ex. Her desire for Savvy to win the scholarship is fierce: she wants Savvy to become a ballet star, so she doesn’t have to rely on men for financial stability, like Josie herself has had to. And honestly, I realize that my rooting for Savvy was very much not about Savvy at all; rather, I’m rooting for Josie, and her very real desire to protect her daughter from her own mistakes.

The results of the scholarship competition aren’t much of a surprise, nor are the ways the various characters’ stories unfold. My one bone to pick has to do with how Josie’s story plays out, and this has nothing to do with bad writing and all to do with how much the author has succeeded in making me feel invested in this character. See, Josie’s love for Savvy leads her to make choices that, well, aren’t great, and a particularly selfless act (undeserved by Savvy, IMHO) turns into an object lesson for “no good deed goes unpunished.” And there’s a truly heartbreaking moment near the end where another character’s kindness makes Josie happy; as readers, we know that the character’s motivations are not at all altruistic, and honestly, Josie deserves so much more kindness in her life. If I were to write a fan fic epilogue to this, I would have her join Ever and Lindsay’s friendship circle, and just find comfort in other women’s support.

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Thank you to Kensington Books for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.