It pains me to say that Swing Time did not live up to its buzz. The beginning hooked me for sure. The story is presumable about two friends, dancers, and I loved the initial plot, the narrator's experience as a girl, her relationship with her dancing friend Tracey, their complex family dynamics and their experiences growing up as black/biracial girls. Unfortunately, after the beginning there isn't enough about dancing, and not a whole lot about the girls' friendship beyond a certain point. I lost interest almost entirely as the narrator becomes an assistant to a mega pop star named Aimee. That dynamic and ensuing plot felt adrift and aimless to me, and, FYI, it becomes an every-other-chapter sort of thing. I should say, though, I was intrigued by Smith's prose and her ability to bring in history in a way that felt authentic--it's the only reason I read through to the end, even through my frustration at the aimless plot that all but flatlined.