Gabi's Reviews

References to classical music and classical ballet are everywhere in this beautifully observed coming of age story set in America in the 1980's. Carlisle is the daughter of Isabel a Balanchine Prima Ballerina and Robert a gay ballet production manager. Exposed to dance from the start there is no question about the direction her own career will take.

Amid all the romance, glamour and high art is the aids epidemic to observe at close hand as her parents part ways and her father moves in with James his lover. Psychologically wonderfully observed the character Carlisle gives the reader a window through the perspective of a child born into this elite but fraught world.

Tracking her trajectory into choreography (she is too tall to qualify as a classical ballerina) and her estrangement from her fascinating 'fathers' is a real pleasure. For those who are not enamored with the world of dance there is so much to love, for those who love it - don't miss this one.

Anne's Review



Carlisle Martin dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. Her mother and father are separated, and her brilliant ballet-oriented father has gone to live with another man, James.



Carlisle only gets to see her father, Robert and his lover James for a few precious weeks a year, when she visits their apartment. During this time James educates her in all he holds dear in life, especially ballet. She longs to go and live with them permanently but suddenly the AIDS crisis is on their doorstep. Soon a passionate love affair creates a rift between them that reverberates. for decades to come.



This is a gripping and well written novel with a masterfully revealed secret at its heart. It asks what it takes to be an artist, and the price that must be paid.

Publishers Reviews

'A luminous chronicle of betrayal, sacrifice and ambition' The Observer
'My idea of a perfect book ... I cannot recommend it enough.' Jami Attenberg
'In this finger-trap puzzle of a plot, the pull of the past meets the pressures of the present' New York Times

Carlisle Martin dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer like her mother Isabel. She only gets to see her father Robert, and his brilliant but troubled partner James, for a few precious weeks a year when she visits their enchanted apartment in Greenwich Village. James educates her in all that he holds dear in life- literature, music, and most of all, dance. As the years go by, Carlisle is desperate to be asked to stay permanently, even as AIDS brings devastation to their community. Instead, a passionate love affair creates a rift between them, with devastating consequences that reverberate for decades to come. Nineteen years later, Carlisle receives a phone call which unravels the fateful events of her life . . .

They're Going to Love You is a gripping and gorgeously written novel of heartbreaking intensity. With psychological precision and a masterfully revealed secret at its heart, it asks what it takes to be an artist, and the price of forgiveness, of ambition, and of love.

'Feels like a commercial success in the waiting' The Times
'A deeply felt (late) coming of age tale about purpose and love' 
'A truly beautiful novel' Saga
'An elegant assemblee' Vanity Fair
'A taut, moving evocation of the love and hurt contained within families and the difficulty of forgiveness.' Mail on Sunday