samanthaannecompton 's review for:

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

3.0

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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as someone who’s done ballet since she could walk, i loved this book. it encapsulates the ballet experience, as well as the female friendship dynamic, very well. i found a lot of the characters insufferable at times but by the end of the book i grew (more or less) fond of them. however, it did dip into some very slow paced portions that i had to force myself to get through. i’m glad i did because i enjoyed the book as a whole. i identify a lot with the main character (yes, i know that’s a bad thing) so i found the end of the book very confronting, which wasn’t enjoyable (because i prefer being coddled) but i truly enjoyed the character development in the last few chapters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Abortion, Murder