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barregio 's review for:
The Ballerinas
by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
** Lo Fi Spoilers Ahead **
My first favorite thing about Rachel's book is Tom Stoppard's quote at the beginning. My second favorite thing is that we learn everything we need to know about the Paris Opera Ballet (POB) on page 4 (doing research while reading is hard work!).
"POB takes ten times more students than it can ever accept into the company, in the hopes that just one will yield the desired results. Which means attending the school is necessary if you want to join the company-but it's not enough."
This sentence is helpful because it means we know how sadistic one has to be to want to become a ballerina full-time!
My least favorite thing was the plot twist in regards to Jock (jock twist?) and I had to put the book down for a week cause it's always a bummer when men end up violating women's right to privacy and stuff.
My last least favorite thing is that I wanted the buildup to Delphine/Marg's idea to shove Lindsay onto the street to be way more intense, I wanted more scenes of competitiveness and darkness emerging in the rehearsal space as the two realized just how much better Lindsay's dancing was than the rest. I also didn't appreciate when Lindsay said she was going to sleep with the judge. It doesn't fit the story because she's supposed to be a highly skilled and beautiful dancer on her own. She wouldn't need to sleep with anyone in the first place, especially since they were so sure Lindsay was going to get a spot.
The other half of the book re: Lindsay and Daniel is like a different genre entirely. They should have divorced immediately.
Moral of the story, don't be besties with your competition? But stay lifelong friends if you are :)
The message is good. Pro-choice good.
Unrelated Yet Necessary Note: the fact that Goodreads doesn't have italics is killing me but that's fine.
My first favorite thing about Rachel's book is Tom Stoppard's quote at the beginning. My second favorite thing is that we learn everything we need to know about the Paris Opera Ballet (POB) on page 4 (doing research while reading is hard work!).
"POB takes ten times more students than it can ever accept into the company, in the hopes that just one will yield the desired results. Which means attending the school is necessary if you want to join the company-but it's not enough."
This sentence is helpful because it means we know how sadistic one has to be to want to become a ballerina full-time!
My least favorite thing was the plot twist in regards to Jock (jock twist?) and I had to put the book down for a week cause it's always a bummer when men end up violating women's right to privacy and stuff.
My last least favorite thing is that I wanted the buildup to Delphine/Marg's idea to shove Lindsay onto the street to be way more intense, I wanted more scenes of competitiveness and darkness emerging in the rehearsal space as the two realized just how much better Lindsay's dancing was than the rest. I also didn't appreciate when Lindsay said she was going to sleep with the judge. It doesn't fit the story because she's supposed to be a highly skilled and beautiful dancer on her own. She wouldn't need to sleep with anyone in the first place, especially since they were so sure Lindsay was going to get a spot.
The other half of the book re: Lindsay and Daniel is like a different genre entirely. They should have divorced immediately.
Moral of the story, don't be besties with your competition? But stay lifelong friends if you are :)
The message is good. Pro-choice good.
Unrelated Yet Necessary Note: the fact that Goodreads doesn't have italics is killing me but that's fine.