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    She Came Back Different

    Author Stephanie Willing
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    Audio | Listening Library
    On sale Sep 01, 2026 | 7 Hours and 0 Minutes | 9798217347827
    Grades 3-7
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    Underneath the beautiful world of ballet lurks the dark side of perfectionism in this eerie tale!

    The Stadler Ballet Conservatory prides itself on turning out not only perfect dancers, but perfect pupils. Perhaps too perfect.

    Gemma has been sent by her demanding mother in the hopes that her “rough edges” will be smoothed. But the life of a ballerina feels so far out of reach, she hardly dares to dream of it. Mina, on the other hand, is there on a rescue mission. Her once rebellious older sister returned from Stadler as a smiling, empty shell of her former self. If there are answers, Mina will find them.

    Alternating between their perspectives, both girls must brave a world of rules and conformity. One in which beauty hides a hideous and sinister truth that will devour their very souls if they cannot overcome their differences. Can they embrace each other’s flaws and their own in order to dig up the school’s rotten roots and unmask what’s really growing…and feeding…behind Stadler’s walls?
    Stephanie Willing is an author, audiobook narrator, and a lifelong dancer. She has a BA in Dance from Texas Woman's University and an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. She lives with her husband, two kids, two cats, and a goldfish in New Jersey. When she's not writing or recording, you can find her reading, making snacks for her kids, or working in her butterfly garden in the backyard. View titles by Stephanie Willing

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    Underneath the beautiful world of ballet lurks the dark side of perfectionism in this eerie tale!

    The Stadler Ballet Conservatory prides itself on turning out not only perfect dancers, but perfect pupils. Perhaps too perfect.

    Gemma has been sent by her demanding mother in the hopes that her “rough edges” will be smoothed. But the life of a ballerina feels so far out of reach, she hardly dares to dream of it. Mina, on the other hand, is there on a rescue mission. Her once rebellious older sister returned from Stadler as a smiling, empty shell of her former self. If there are answers, Mina will find them.

    Alternating between their perspectives, both girls must brave a world of rules and conformity. One in which beauty hides a hideous and sinister truth that will devour their very souls if they cannot overcome their differences. Can they embrace each other’s flaws and their own in order to dig up the school’s rotten roots and unmask what’s really growing…and feeding…behind Stadler’s walls?

    Author

    Stephanie Willing is an author, audiobook narrator, and a lifelong dancer. She has a BA in Dance from Texas Woman's University and an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. She lives with her husband, two kids, two cats, and a goldfish in New Jersey. When she's not writing or recording, you can find her reading, making snacks for her kids, or working in her butterfly garden in the backyard. View titles by Stephanie Willing

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