We’ve made it to a new month 🎉 . I can’t wait to tell you all about the books I’ll be reading this month but, for now, I posted my TBR for August as well as my July wrap-up post, which included the book I’m about to talk about: Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton.
Blurb
Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars in this soapy, drama-packed novel featuring diverse characters who will do anything to be the prima at their elite ballet school.
From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Belles, Dhonielle Clayton, and the author of the highly anticipated Symptoms of a Heartbreak, Sona Charaipotra.
Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette’s desire to escape the shadow of her ballet-star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever.
When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.
My Thoughts
I read this book towards the end of last month and, in amongst a selection of pretty light books (although The Education of Ivy Edwards was a bit heavy as well), it definitely stood out.
In this book, through Gigi, Belle and June, Charaipotra and Clayton provide the reader with an insight into the thrilling world of elite ballet. As someone who can’t dance to save her life (but has been known to give it a good go, both competitively when I was at school and just for fun in the present), it was mesmerising reading the descriptions of different moves and routines. I was drawn in by the beautiful descriptions, the glamorous costumes and the complex routines.
Of course, in the case of this book, with beauty comes darkness. Each girl depicted in this book has their own demons, their own problems, which are laid bare as the book goes on. Though I have no knowledge of elite ballet (or dance of any kind), both writers communicated how far people are willing to go with detailed depictions of eating disorders, substance use and straight up sabotage. It heightened the drama and kept me reading on but it also made the book heavy going and, admittedly, quite unpleasant reading at times.
Tiny Pretty Things is a beautifully written if intense book about elite ballet. It is an interesting insight into a world i know nothing about but the often mean and destructive actions of the characters meant it was hard for me to root for them, which impacted my reading of this book and did make me lose interest slightly.
You can follow Sona on Twitter, Instagram or visit her website .
You can follow Dhonielle on Instagram , Twitter or visit her website.
You can buy this book here.
Jen Rose Writes🌹 
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