Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

17 reviews

hailey_alexis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Sexual assault, Sexism, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer

temeade's review

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

OMG! This book was amazing! The beginning was a little slow at the start however, there are little sprinkles of things that made me think, "wait what?" that appeared as though they were not going to be brought up again. I loved the details and the alternating timeline of telling the story. Kapelke-Dale kept my curiosity on it's toes through the many twists and turns of Delphine's life choices. Several times my mouth fell agape as I was shocked that not everyone is who they seem to be. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Cancer, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Infertility, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Murder

Minor: Vomit

oh_neens's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Sexism

bookwormsandcoffeestains's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcoholism

Minor: Death of parent, Addiction, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Abortion, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Grief, Infertility, and Abandonment

Additional TW: revenge porn

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

 The Ballerinas is a story of complicated female friendship. Delphine, Margaux and Lindsay met as young dance students at the highly competitive Paris Opera Ballet. Now they are in their mid-30s, and after more than a decade away, Delphine is returning as a choreographer and hopes to resume the closeness the three once shared. But given that two of them are hiding a major secret involving the other, and that times have changed, will that even be possible?

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.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Cancer, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

beth_s98's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Murder, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

rusty_moonshadow's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

thenovelbookshelf's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

A compelling novel of three ballerinas, friends from youth and ballet school, and their friendship, competitiveness and relationships throughout their dancing life.
  
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.

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Content Warnings

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

dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

This book is beautifully written. I finished it in two sittings - even though the story was more of a slow burn, I couldn't put it down. The characters are rich and messy and their relationships are complex and multilayered - the book itself is a very character driven story, which I love. I also liked how the timeline jumped between the past and present.

I am still sitting with the intense symbolism of

Lindsay's dancing career coming to an end because of the dancer statue she, Delphine, and Margaux bought in their youth.

There are so many layers there.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

skyejay95's review

dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Cancer, Abortion, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcoholism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Body shaming