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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
jcinf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
• Friendship between women
• The secrets we keep
• The relentless and exhausting pursuit of perfection (one that I’d argue is an experience profoundly belonging to women)
• The feeling of being watched that all women live with
This book ended up healing me in ways I didn’t expect. Here are some of my favorite quotes. Huge spoilers in the last couple:
We all stuck to our stories. And it is so easy to see someone through only one own lens: the role they play in yours. Stella had been right. I’d only ever seen her as a guru, a mentor, the friendly neighborhood witch. Who was Stella in her own story?
I’ve always thought dying would be a little bit like dissolving into the sun. We leave our little frames behind and see the whole picture for the first time. The entire panorama. I like to feel the sun on my face because I can practice living and practice dying. Both at the same time.
I watched her, struggling for perfection, this woman who had been struggling for perfection for more than twenty years, and I was fascinated.
This is why I loved choreographing. This is why it was better than dancing. Instead of trying to contort myself into someone else’s vision, I would take what was already inside me and find the perfect vessel for it.
Living our lives as though we expect it to be forgotten. As though now is all that matters. It might be easier on the mind to live like that, but it’s harder in the soul.
You’re bigger than us. And after everything’s said and done, we depend on your goodwill. Not just to make things easier. For survival. If you want, to you can kill us, and we know it.
This wasn’t the movies in our lives didn’t work that way. Someone was always, always watching us and it was too late. It had been too late since I pushed him through the window. It had been too late long before then. Besides, I didn’t want to cover this up. Monstrous and horrible as his body had become, as horrified as I was that I actually killed somebody, I also felt like I was watching the stage at the end of the best dance I’ve ever made. In the darkness, I felt my mother beside me. Smiling. Maybe, after everything, this was her legacy. She spent her life performing for the void but two hands on Daniel‘s chest and I flip the script, made the only ballet that could ever truly be for us and about us at the same time. And achieved what she never could: we had become the spectators for once. We had been the ones to please. And he was the one who failed. His death was my masterpiece. Because that’s all ballet is, in the end. Just bodies moving through time and space.
Absolutely stunning novel.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Murder, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Infertility, Grief, Death, Blood, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Sexism
rusty_moonshadow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Grief, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Infertility, Alcoholism, Car accident, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit
emilypook's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Sexual violence
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
mondovertigo'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
4.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Medical content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Grief, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
liteartha'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
3.5
it's been ages since i hesitated quite so much on a rating.
on one hand, the ballerinas tries to handle a lot at once and packs its second half with a great deal of somewhat disparate subjects that don't necessarily come together very smoothly. the pacing is very inconsistent and while i don't generally mind a slow start, this did make the book feel very unbalanced.
on the other hand, there was a lot that i did like. the ballet, for one. the ambition, the artistry, the cost of it all. it's clear a great deal of care and research went into portraying the inner workings of a ballet company. there's also a heavy focus on the complexities of women, their relationships with each other, and patriarchal systems they exist within.
i do have to say that the synopsis of this book feels misleading. despite comparisons to black swan and dare me, i'd very much hesitate to call this book a thriller. at its core, the ballerinas is a meditative character study of a novel, focusing mostly on delphine, the maturing she has yet to do, and the messy relationships with the women in her life.
ultimately, i enjoyed this. it's a strong debut novel and touches on compelling themes. the pacing, side characters, and general focus of the novel could've been improved upon, but i'd still definitely recommend this book and would read more from the author in the future.
thank you to netgalley and st. martin's press for providing this digital review copy in exchange for an honest review
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Infertility, Vomit, and Adult/minor relationship