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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
4.5 Stars.
Maya and Natasha are twins born during the Siege of Leningrad. Their mother, a ballerina for the famous Kirov ballet, would rather die than not dance and abandons them. They are raised to honor the State and be ballerinas like their mother. But they are pitted against one another, and years of pain, betrayal, loss, and love follow.
This was a stunning debut novel. It has all the drama of ballet, is set during a wonderful historical time in the Soviet Union and America, and is beautifully written. It's a love story to ballet and sisterhood.
Maya and Natasha are twins born during the Siege of Leningrad. Their mother, a ballerina for the famous Kirov ballet, would rather die than not dance and abandons them. They are raised to honor the State and be ballerinas like their mother. But they are pitted against one another, and years of pain, betrayal, loss, and love follow.
This was a stunning debut novel. It has all the drama of ballet, is set during a wonderful historical time in the Soviet Union and America, and is beautifully written. It's a love story to ballet and sisterhood.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham follows the journey of twin sisters who grow up in Soviet Russia, facing the challenges and rivalries of pursuing careers as successful ballerinas. Along the way, jealousy and betrayal drive a wedge between them, but later in life, they seek to reconcile. The story spans from their birth to mid-adulthood, exploring the complexities of sisterhood, ambition, and forgiveness.
maya and natasha is an absolutely wonderful debut novel about sisterhood, ballet, betrayal, freedom, and, ultimately, love, set against the backdrop of the cold war. i preordered this after seeing it on a bookshop.org list of upcoming releases early this year because it sounded like something so up my alley, and my god was it. this balances personal drama, intrigue, and devastation and serious political tensions so well. the pacing of this book is great and its scope makes it feel a lot longer than it is—not at all because it drags (in fact, it rarely, if ever, does), but because so much is covered in less than 400 pages. i think some parts could have been slightly more fleshed out and some minor plot points worked out just a little too well for the sake of advancing the larger plot at times, but it was nothing to turn your nose at. i was not at all expecting to cry, but lo and behold, it got me. i seriously hope this gets more love this year !! it’s fabulous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oof. This was rough.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
picked it up bc my name was in the title, not expecting to be in love with this book at the end