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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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Cancer, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Infertility, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
readrienne's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder, Cancer, Alcoholism, and Abortion
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
jcinf's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This book was everything I didn’t know I needed.
• 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.
• 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.
Content Warnings
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
frantically's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The ballet aspect of this book — the techniques, the industry, the trauma the ballerinas face was researched with obvious love and diligence and was really the highlight of the book. The supposed feministic message (if it can be called that?) was like trying to swim through musky water and it wasn't a fun experience. The ending was just a tad too ridiculous and perfect for my taste.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, and Pedophilia
Minor: Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, and Medical content
kwoot7's review against another edition
challenging
informative
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Infertility, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abortion
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
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 pornserendipitysbooks'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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Cancer, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship
jillgoober's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book centers around ballerinas in the Paris Opera Ballet throughout their lives - from age 13 to 36. It mainly focuses on Delphine, our narrator, and her two friends Margaux and Lindsay. With a combination of present day scenes and flashbacks, we learn about the harsh world of professional ballet and how it takes its toll on them. This book is very character-driven and focuses on their development as opposed to plot development.
I enjoyed reading this book overall mostly due to the drama behind the curtain, so to speak: who's cheating on who, so and so was injured, she will get cut from the company next season, etc. I found the structure to be a little boring sometimes mostly because I wasn't sure where this story was going. Every time some big secret was vaguely brought up, I thought we would have to wait until the end to hear the details but it was always revealed much sooner. However, I certainly did not see the end coming.
Like I said before, I loved reading about the drama behind the scenes of the ballet company as well as the focus on the competitive aspects and how, at some point, you might age out before achieving star status. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy character-driven stories where the characters are flawed, make many mistakes, and are still working on it by the end.
I enjoyed reading this book overall mostly due to the drama behind the curtain, so to speak: who's cheating on who, so and so was injured, she will get cut from the company next season, etc. I found the structure to be a little boring sometimes mostly because I wasn't sure where this story was going. Every time some big secret was vaguely brought up, I thought we would have to wait until the end to hear the details but it was always revealed much sooner. However, I certainly did not see the end coming.
Like I said before, I loved reading about the drama behind the scenes of the ballet company as well as the focus on the competitive aspects and how, at some point, you might age out before achieving star status. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy character-driven stories where the characters are flawed, make many mistakes, and are still working on it by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
our_bookish_reads's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
I disliked this book so much!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Cancer, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
briannad4's review
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Abortion, Death of parent, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Eating disorder, and Infertility
Minor: Miscarriage