Ian lives in a suburb where everything's the same. The houses are the same, the cars are the same, and their aspirations are the same. But Ian is different. Openly gay in his bigoted high school, Ian doesn't exactly fit in. But he's not worried - he's been training in dance for a long time and soon he'll be able to leave town and train to become a professional. Then he falls in love with Jess, the high school quarterback. . .

Gail Sidonie Sobat is an award-winning author for children, teens and young adults. Her novel, Gravity Journal, was a 2009 White Pine Honour Book, a Moonbeam Gold Award winner, and was nominated for the 2011 Stellar Award. Gail is also the creator and coordinator of YouthWrite, camps for kids who love to write, and of SWYC (Spoken Word Youth Choir). Not With a Bang is her ninth book.

Gail Sidonie Sobat's profile page

"Gail Sidonie Sobat is a writer of great dexterity, utilizing humour, sarcasm, wit, and tragedy, all to create a narrative that is flowing, energetic, and inspirational."&nbsp - CM Magazine

"Sobat. . . does an admirable job of sustaining an engaging authenticity in her narrative. . . " - Resource Links

"Chance to Dance is able to go where few LGBTQ teen novels have gone before: beyond the coming-out novel." - Canadian Children's Book News

". . . read this very real and bittersweetstory that juxtaposes love with prejudice, courage with fear, and sensitivity with harshness." - Helen K, CanLit for Little Canadians

"It is. . . wonderful to read a novel about a queer youth who is happily, unambivalently gay and is accepted by family and close friends." - OUTVisions Magazine

Chance to Dance for You

Ian Trudeau is 17 years old. He’s gay, outspoken and loves to dance. In his cookie-cutter suburban town, these things make him “different,” but these differences are also a source of strength. Strength is what he needs to become a professional dancer. Then Jess Campeau, Ian’s personal tormentor, corners and kisses him. Ian makes the quarterback an offer he can’t refuse: he’ll keep Jess’s sexuality a secret if Jess will stop being a sexist, homophobic “jerkoff.” They quickly become friends – and more.

Gail Sidonie Sobat has infused Chance to Dance for You with music, dance and humour. Even Ian’s coming-out scene with his mother is funny. More importantly, since he came out when he was 13 years old, Chance to Dance is able to go where few LGBTQ teen novels have gone before: beyond the coming-out novel. As a result, the reader gets to see Ian’s sexuality not as in issue, but as a normalized part of his everyday identity.

The novel ends with Ian’s being beaten up by several classmates. Although LGBTQ teen literature often presents homophobic violence as an unavoidable, and even causal, result of being LGBTQ, Sobat goes against this convention by emphasizing that homophobia is a societal issue. Although Ian was a victim of a hate crime, he recognizes that he is not a victim – he is a survivor.

Chance to Dance for You is a positive and hopeful novel recommended for libraries, Gay-Straight-Alliances, anti-bullying curriculum and fans of Alex Sanchez’s Rainbow Boys trilogy.