it is about a girl named nia sioux who was on the show dance moms and it is about how she was always on the bottom of the pyramid with her teacher Abby Lee Miller

For my Quarter 4 Choice Book, I read “Bottom of the Pyramid” by Nia Sioux. You may recognize this name if you have watched any season or episode of the Lifetime reality TV show Dance Moms, as Nia was one of the main dancers on the show and the only one who stayed through all seven seasons. Through this book, Nia is able to tell her story in her words, and recall the transgressions she faced, whether that be dealing with the pressures of newfound fame, navigating misogynoir as a young black girl in a predominantly white field, and the never-ending offenses of her now-infamous dance teacher Abby Lee Miller. But, in addition to this, she explains how she powered through these experiences, and is now in a more healthy and happy place and able to look back in a reflective way. This book really showed me how evil and malicious of a person Abby Lee Miller really is, besides from what I already know watching the show, and it baffles me how Nia came out of this situation with a level-headed mindset.

I do appreciate that instead of making snarky comments on social media or throwing shade at other dancers or moms on the show, she took the more mature route, and made a thoughtful and introspective novel. But, a lot of the writing feels very juvenile, and you can definitely tell this is her first time writing a book, or even writing for a professional project at all. Towards the middle, certain moments start to get repetitive and it feels like she starts running out of things to say in retrospect, and instead starts spouting out random stories and things that happened. The end ties it up with a nice bow, but I felt like the book would’ve been more effective with some edits. I would recommend this book to fans of Dance Moms, who want to learn more about the dynamic on the show and how it played out. However, if you’re looking for a well-written memoir, there are better ones out there, as much as it pains me to say as I did enjoy this book.