A review by leahsbooks
Shiny Broken Pieces by Dhonielle Clayton, Sona Charaipotra

dark 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? Yes

4.0

I'm glad I chose the audiobook for this, because the narrators did an amazing job with the story. I loved that there were different narrators, making it easy to differentiate between the characters.

The story is told from the POV of three main characters, like last time - Bette, Gigi, and June. Each of them is struggling with the choices they've made and the direction they're heading in to reach their goals. Even though I had strong feelings about each of the characters after book 1, they all demonstrated a lot of personal growth throughout this book. I was so curious to see what would happen, and where they'd go on their journey, and I wasn't let down at all. 

There are some strong trigger warnings involved in this story, but what came through most strongly was the level of love that each of the characters has for ballet. For these girls, ballet becomes an all-consuming kind of love that isn't healthy and leads them to make choices that are completely unhealthy and potentially dangerous. 

Overall, the story is fast-paced and interesting, giving access into the incredibly intense world of competitive ballet. The characters are well-developed, with their strengths and flaws that make them realistic and relatable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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