Thank you to Algonquin for including me on the blog tour for Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small! This novel recently released in paperback, so go ahead and order it today! The Book and its AuthorWould you die for the Prize? Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained since childhood at the Paris Opera Ballet School, where they’ve forged an inseparable bond through shared stories of family tragedies and a powerful love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves how far they would go for the ultimate prize: to be named the one girl who will join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic will make them shine, too? Would they risk death for it? Neither girl is sure. But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the Prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other. Bright Burning Stars is a stunning, propulsive story about girls at their physical and emotional extremes, the gutting power of first love, and what it means to fight for your dreams. A. K. Small was born in Paris, France. At five years old, she began studying classical dance with the legendary Max Bozzoni, then later with Daniel Franck and Monique Arabian at the famous Académie Chaptal. At thirteen, she moved to the United States, where she danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet for one summer and with the Richmond Ballet Student Company for several years. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has an MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, her puppy, and her three daughters, and practices yoga. Bright Burning Stars is her first novel. ReviewThank you to Algonquin for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Sharp yet glittering, Bright Burning Stars takes us behind the curtain of a ballet school that demands dangerous excellence from its students. Marine and Kate are competing for the ultimate prize--membership in the Opera's ballet corps. This novel explores friendship, eating disorders, and isolation all in the lovely but bruising world of ballet. I really enjoyed reading from Marine's point of view. She has a complicated relationship with ballet, as it is her main connection to her brother Oli, who passed away before the story, but it is also what brings her to Kate. Marine must figure out what she is hungry for, if not the Prize. Small's prose shows her struggles in bright motion, as the competition begins to unravel what Marine thought was the solid foundation of her world. I appreciated the representation of Marine's mental health and body image struggles against the instructors' criticism. It's not the main concern addressed in the book, but it's definitely a realistic portrayal of depression and anxiety as well, for anyone who's suffered like Marine. I'm not saying Bright Burning Stars is at all a comforting read, but it doesn't varnish over the realities of Marine's life at a tiny, competitive ballet school. Kate, on the other hand, did irritate me a bit. I honestly think she was meant to, which, by all means! Her exclusion from the crowd of wealthy French kids made her all the more desperate, and her decision-making process is definitely flawed, but that just made her all the more interesting to read about. The tension mounted as the showcase approaches, and I honestly couldn't tell who would be awarded the Prize. I'm very satisfied with the ending. At once unexpected and then totally obvious--the very best kind. Following Marine and Kate all the way through to the pinnacle of their schooling through flashbacks and memories makes their competition even more high-stakes for the readers. You don't really want to pick a side, but somehow one of the girls steals your heart and you just root for her all the way through. If you can handle the heavy content, Bright Burning Stars is an excellent novel that explores the cutthroat world of professional ballet. I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested in an artistic twist on dark academia. 4/5 stars.
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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