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hailey_alexis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Abortion, Sexual assault, Sexism, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer
toadtornado's review
2.0
•An extremely unlikeable main character who faces no true consequences for her actions.
•The last half of the book is nothing but a girlboss power trip fantasy.
•author repeats things mentioned in earlier chapters like it’s some big revelation when the MC has know canonically since chapter 5. Sloppy writing.
Good things about the book:
•how she describes music and ballet is beautiful
•has that fun trashy book quality that keeps you interested just because it’s bad
Graphic: Infertility, Cancer, Blood, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Car accident, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Abortion, and Pedophilia
sammyanntha's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abortion and Misogyny
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Sexual harassment
kwoot7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Gaslighting, Infertility, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abortion
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There was real depth and breadth to the storytelling which I enjoyed. The exploration of sexism and misogyny in the world of ballet felt spot on; the me too storyline all too plausible. The book also took an in-depth look at some issues specific to the world of ballet, particularly the constant critiquing of women’s bodies - what they look like and what they can do, the fetishisation of the image of the graceful and elegant perfect ballerina vs the hard physical reality of the job, as well as issues relating to the fact that choreographers and ballet masters are mainly men.This is not a book in which the male characters came off well. They all seemed to want to control women’s bodies and or limit their career opportunities. The female characters aren’t wholly likeable, either. All three were flawed, made questionable decisions, and let ambition get the better off the them at times. Delphine was particularly self-absorbed and lacking in awareness of the possible needs of others.
I thought the then and now storylines worked effectively to explore the friendship between the three, how it began and the challenges it faced. Specifically, the very insular pressure-cooker nature of ballet made it hard to make and maintain friendships outside the company, and yet ballet is intensely competitive and cut-throat. Is it possible to maintain a friendship when you are competing against your friends, vying for plum roles and key promotions?
I thought some of the social messaging was overly heavy handed and had mixed feelings about the ending, but overall enjoyed the time I spent with this book.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Cancer, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship
our_bookish_reads's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Abortion, Cancer, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
kbergsten's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abortion, Alcoholism, and Cancer
briannad4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Abortion, Death of parent, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Eating disorder, and Infertility
Minor: Miscarriage
thenovelbookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This isn't a book about ballerinas, but rather a journey of the hardships dancers go through to be the best they can be and want to be.
Moderate: Misogyny, Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent, Infertility, Blood, Cancer, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
krys_kilz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am still sitting with the intense symbolism of
I also thought the book offered a lot of dark and heartbreaking observations about femininity, patriarchal institutions and gendered violence. Though, at times these observations skewed towards cisheteronormativity and white feminism.
Overall, this book is an engaging exploration of friendships - how they change over time, how to make amends, and how we often see people as who we want them to be instead of who they actually are.
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Abortion, Alcoholism, and Cancer
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Miscarriage