Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

I stumbled across this book when browsing the shelves for beautiful covers and you gotta admit, this cover’s pretty stunning.

Although yes, I only picked this book up for the cover, once I read the back I knew this was a read I would enjoy. Behold, the story of three aspiring prima ballerinas navigating expectations, jealousy and modern-world problems.

Being a dancer myself, this book was a lot more relatable to me than it probably would have been for someone else. I could understand the terms and language used in it and their struggles were my struggles. For that reason, my rating will probably be slightly higher than yours so keep that in mind.

Summary: Giselle (Gigi), Bette and June are all dancers at an elite Manhattan Ballet Academy. Bette is the perfect dancer, flawless as a ballerina in a music box. However, that porcelain exterior hides a disgusting personality. June is half-Asian so discriminated against by the Russian teachers and with the stress put on her by her mom to land a lead role or leave the dance world forever, she’s starting to crack. Gigi just came from California but already, she’s landing the lead solos that Bette used to get. Of course, this doesn’t help her make friends albeit her sweet nature.

Thoughts: This book surprised me with its heaviness. I thought it would be about the struggles of becoming a professional ballerina but it actually tackled many modern-day issues such as eating disorders and homosexuality etc. I would give this book an 8/10 because the plot is very fast-paced and riveting but as always, I don’t like reading in multiple perspectives unless it’s done in truly seamless transitions. Happy reading bookworms!