I was predisposed to be extremely interested in this book. Why?
I did ballet from ages 3-17. If I wasn’t in my own class or rehearsal I was helping with younger classes. I was, it’s fair to say, obsessed.
One of my favorite book series is Maggie Adams, by Karen Strickler Dean. It’s a familiar world, and the events and characters were easily identifiable.
One of my favorite movies to this day is “Center Stage.” Again, characters and situations that are all very familiar. And I remember “The Turning Point” having an impact on me.
I also grew up during an exciting time for American ballet – Baryshnikov was king, I watched Gelsey Kirkland’s Nutcracker year-round, we had season tickets to the San Francisco Ballet, and I was one of 50 dancers chosen in the state of California to attend a summer intensive ballet-school.
In short, I ate, breathed, and lived ballet for a long time. It was central to my growing up. So, I was definitely not going to miss this book.
For a story aimed at young adults, the author hits all of the right notes. She covers the competitiveness, the sense (or lack thereof) of self-worth, the insecurities, and the exhilaration of a well-done performance beautifully.
She also captures the male dancer lothario type perfectly. They’re everywhere in studios and companies. Kudos for the accuracy there.
I can’t say that Kate and Marine’s trajectory was surprising. It was, in fact, reminiscent of some of the fiction that I mentioned above. But I think that’s a good thing, because what happened to them is prevalent throughout the industry.
I really appreciated the attention given to the lengths that the girls would go to so they could maintain their ballet bodies and their ranks on “The Boards.” I remember being a younger dancer, watching the older girls in the company take their breaks, subsisting on cigarettes and black coffee.
Readers not familiar with ballet terminology may have a hard time with some of the scenes, because the author is very accurate with the steps and phrases. I’ll admit, it was strange to see them in writing – I’m very used to hearing them and not seeing them. I found myself muttering the phrase so I could picture what the step was.
Actually, that was kinda the fun part.
Anyway, I think it was a well-written book for anyone, young or old, who has a vested or passing interest in ballet. For parents of hopefuls, it will be an eye-opener to the potential pitfalls.
For me, it was nice to reminisce about my youth for a few hours.

I received a free copy of this book from Algonquin Young Readers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Marine and Kate have been friends since their first year at the Paris Opera Ballet Academy. Now that they're in their last year of school, they go to extremes to try to win The Prize, a chance to work with the Ballet Company.
Although this book was good, well-written, and interesting, I just didn't enjoy it. Kate and Marine were well-written, and not likeable, and their bad decisions stressed me out. I was so stressed at one point that I ate almost a whole pint of ice cream.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A striking and drama-filled story about pushing the limits of what someone is capable of doing to achieve their goals.

BRIGHT BURNING STARS proposes the simple question of just how far would you go to reach your dreams. In this debut, Small explores the lives, loves, and choices of two dancers and best friends, Marine and Kate.

Within the pages of this book, the reader will be thrust into the high-stakes world of dancing. The author will push the limits of her characters by forcing them to deal with a variety of situations both within the world of dance and out. This balance is fragile as more often than not, the dance side of the book will win out. There were times I wished for more moments as well as interactions outside of the studio. However, from what I understand, this is not always the case in real life, so I suppose I should not expect it within the fictional one.

Filled with tension, drama, and consequences to important choices, BRIGHT BURNING STARS is a wonderfully written story and will make the reader question just how far they would go for their desired prize.

So at first this book gave me Black Swan vibes but then it quickly became a serious character study of two best friends at an elite ballet academy in Paris. Marine and Kate are totally different but in pursuit of winning top place at their school upon graduation; the winner gets a spot at a professional ballet company and everyone else goes home. The competition between students is harrowing and your friends aren’t really your friends. The adults and teacher at the school are not present and unhelpful with any problems so these teens are on their own.

I found myself identifying with different aspects of Kate and Marine throughout the book and both of them deal with pretty serious issues on their own. While the book alters POVs, the first part is more about Kate and the last part about Marine. I hit 2/3 through and couldn’t put it down.

Bright Burning Stars is an intense story and I really want to start off saying that this book is for the more mature/older side of the young adult readers. There are quite a few trigger warnings and I think they’re important to start off with, because in my eyes they’re not really resolved or its’ not made clear how wrong some of these things are. The trigger warnings are: eating disorders, mental illness, suicide, abortion, unclear sexual consent, and unhealthy romantic relationships and friendships.

This story follows Kate and Marine and we get both of their POVs. They’re both friends that are in a very elite dancing school in Paris. Kate and Marine make a pact to be friends forever and support each other. The friendship started out as something that seemed good for both, but in the end this friendship was pretty toxic. And to be honest, I didn’t feel like we really dived into either character, but were only given glimpses of their character. I couldn’t connect with either of these characters.

The setting is quite interesting and the author really captured the competitive and dramatic world of ballet dancing. At times it was really extreme! I have to say that this book did have me sucked in from the start. The way it’s written made it a fast read and I have to say I did want to know who would end up being number one in this very competitive world.

There were a few side characters that definitely caught my interest that I would’ve liked to have known more of. I think that would’ve made me enjoy Bright Burning Stars more. It really missed some depth and learning lessons part of all of the trigger warnings found in this book.

I’m very grateful to Algonquin Young Readers for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review & I’m so sorry for the lateness of my review!

This book ended up being a different experience than I expected, this doesn’t mean that it was a negative experience as a whole, only I found a heavier book, full of topics that could be triggering for many readers, so I want to begin my review recommending discretion to those who decide to read it, as it contains sensitive topics such as abortion and eating disorders, among others. Personally, I think that this book didn’t meet my expectations fully because it has an immature tone in terms of character creation & drama, on the other hand, I liked several aspects, especially the focus on ballet & the focus on this “friendship” which was very interesting to explore.


In Bright Burning Stars, we follow a double POV of the characters of Marine & Kate, two best friends whose bond has grown stronger due to certain family tragedies in their lives and because they also share the same passion for ballet. But when both girls want to be the only girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious ballet corps, they’ll begin to wonder what they’re willing to do or how far they’re willing to go to win it and we will see that this bond wasn’t as solid as we thought.

The promise of the book captivates me, I love that it’s about competition, I like that it focuses on this weird/kind of toxic friendship and above all I really like the dark tone behind that invokes betrayals, secrets, and lies, it seems like one of those super addictive plots which I enjoy watching in TV series, for example, but the execution is really messy. This plot is highly focused on the development of the characters, therefore it is a character-driven book, which isn’t a problem for me because I love this type of stories, even so, I feel that the main problem that I’ve had and I think it has It’s been something I’ve seen from other readers as well, it’s the feeling that the characters don’t grow up enough or don’t have that impact to really engage with them. I think it’s okay, in fact, I got quite hooked on everything that was happening, but it’s true that the girls don’t have strong growth towards the end and there’s not much learning or evolution regarding their relationship.

This book, as mentioned before, touches on extremely sensitive topics and does so in a rather crude way, so if you’re sensitive be very careful with that. I don’t want to focus too much on each problem as such since I think that I couldn’t give a complete opinion due to my ignorance on certain issues, even so, I want to mention that I would have liked a little more information or commitment on some points, especially in the abortion issue, since the way it’s approached in the book seemed to be almost “simple” and “flat” on the other hand, issues such as eating disorders, even mental illnesses and emotional abuse I think they’re approached with more “success “ Even so, always remembering that my opinion is personal and I haven’t gone through these situations, so I cannot speak from my experience but only based on what I’ve read.

I was surprised while reading for the lack of descriptions in the story, I’m not the biggest fan of descriptions, in fact, I prefer when they’re brief but here it seems like it needed it, you know? There’s something about the setting that I love and I find it extremely beautiful that it’s located in Paris, so I’m surprised that there’s not a little more focus on the surroundings. Yet this was only my perception and it may have been totally enough for others. On the other hand, the author’s style seemed good to me, I’m not sure if it’s for me, though, because even when I enjoy my reading experience, I don’t think the way in which the author approaches the story or the structures of the plot itself be for me. Which is fine, this doesn’t mean that I can’t recommend it anyway.

One of the things I liked the most is exploring a bit about the competitive and more intense side of ballet. Having been a ballet dancer myself I know how the pressure feels and the havoc it can cause on your mental health. I dance for a lot of years, so I know how exhausting it can be and the competitions can be very demanding. So seeing the darker side of all this was very interesting, obviously, I had a wonderful experience, but being a demanding person myself I can understand some situations within the book, and how girls give their all to achieve excellence makes sense to me. Even so, it’s not a book that shows a healthy environment, in fact, the author has decided to focus more on all the negative aspects within a competition and decided to add a bit of mystery and tension from the hands of many twists and betrayals around the corner, which was really good.

At times, I was so hooked on this story especially with the whole subject of the competition, the dance school, Paris, and the relationship between Marine & Kate, that’s why I say that I’ve enjoyed this story, even though I know that it has its flaws or at least weak complements that don’t add much to the plot itself or are choices that I personally wouldn’t have made or simply with which I don’t agree, such as the love triangle, for example, you know how I feel about that

Even so, and leaving these things that I haven’t liked very much aside, I can recommend it if you want to read something intense with a lot of drama, focused on characters (non-likable ones) that although flat at times are interesting to follow and can provoke many emotions. I don’t feel that the growth of these, but it does make sense, sometimes in life things don’t go the way we want and the endings aren’t always perfect or happy, so here you have one of those outcomes that leave you with a bittersweet taste. So if you enjoy dark, dramatic plots that involve betrayals, friendships, and gossip then surely this will be your cup of tea & even though I’m not entirely convinced with the execution of the idea in general nor the evolution of the characters, I can see why others could enjoy it more.

tw: disordered thoughts about weight, death by starvation, major disordered eating (prominent) and starvation, glorifying of starvation, grief, death of sibling, self harm, drug use, abortion, attempted suicide

One thing you all may not know about me is that I am an absolute sucker for ballet books. I love love love the ballet! I’ve never danced for the ballet or even taken a dance lesson. I just love watching anything relating to dance. It’s probably because I wish I could do that for myself but alas, I am incredibly uncoordinated.

So imagine my excitement when Algonquin Publishing emailed me and asked if I wanted to participate in a blog tour to promote a book about ballet dancers. I didn’t even read the rest of the email and immediately responded with a resounding yes.

I loved this book so much. I didn’t expect it to be so sinister. One doesn’t expect ballet books with a sub theme of friendships to have such a sinister vibe to it but this one did and I lived for it. Even the two main characters, Marine and Kate, had these less than perfect vibes. I felt like they were just darker than what they appeared to be.

Marine and Kate were very different characters and they danced for very different reasons. Marine danced for her brother. Her story arc could be considered triggering as she develops an eating disorder and her thoughts slowly begin to revolve around her disordered eating. So major trigger warnings for that as it’s pretty graphic.

Kate danced because dance is her life. Her story arc involves something completely different than Marine. Hers involves drugs so there is a trigger warning for that. I loved how different both these characters are. If I had to choose between the two of them, I wouldn’t be able too. Each character brought something to the table.

That’s all for you get out of me. I want you all to read this book so I don’t want to give away any spoilers or anything like that. Overall, I loved this book so much. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book so I can reread it again and again. I highly recommend this book! If you can handle the trigger warnings, you won’t regret checking out this sinister book.

I am a failure. I finished this book last Thursday with the intention of doing my blog post on Friday, scheduled to go live on Saturday (my selected date for the tour). However, Friday was basically the worst day in recent memory and I did not have time to even think about anything other than my awful job and feeling sorry for myself. And then to be honest, I went to my friends gender reveal party (it’s a girl!) and got stupid drunk to forget about the day/week/month/year I had…which led to Saturday and having to pick my son up from our aunt’s house and feeling crappy and completely forgetting that I did not do this review and it did not post on Saturday as I had planned. Now, onto the show! Thank you so much to Algonquin and A.K. Small for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour.

Bright Burning Stars is a YA contemporary coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of an elite dance school in France. Marine and Kate are in their final year at the Paris Opera Ballet School. There’s only one spot for females to advance to join the Company, likewise for males. Winning ‘the prize’ is everything and consumes the girl’s thoughts. Part of winning is having a great partner for the duo dances, and there’s only one guy who meets those requirements. How far are Marine and Kate willing to go to get the prize? Will they come out on the other side with their friendship intact?

I am consistently fascinated by entertainment set around the world of ballet. However, I know about 3 things total about it- 1) it’s fucking hard 2) it’s a cutthroat world and 3) if you’re not ruthless and unforgiving in every aspect, you’ll never make it. I also know of the huge stigma surrounding mental and physical health, both of which are touched upon in this book, so trigger warnings for eating disorders, mental health issues, suicidal thoughts, and potentially mild sex abuse depending on the reader.

This book is told in dual perspectives, which did get a little confusing at times. The girls are very different people traveling down different paths, but those paths interject a lot, which made me call back to the beginning of the chapter a few times. Dual perspective tends to be tricky in friendship stories, but I think overall it served this story well. As I said, very different people with different paths. I wouldn’t say either character is exactly likable, but I also didn’t really dislike either. Teenage girls are difficult to like sometimes, okay? We all know this, especially when we used to be one!

I expected the plot itself to border more on thriller/suspense than it actually did. The cover and synopsis gave the tone a sense of foreboding. It really isn’t a thriller, but it is unusually dark for a YA contemporary. Overall, I enjoyed it and I think anyone who enjoys YA contemporary or thrillers will too. Don’t let the subject matter deter, there are a lot of dancing terms and the story *does* revolve around dancing, but you don’t have to be a fan of that world to enjoy it.

Bright Burning Stars was an addicting read, one in which I hadn't been entirely sure what to expect from it.

This story follows, in a dual point-of-view, two teen ballerinas striving for "the prize" that they could win at the end of their stay at a French ballet school. I'll be honest, "the prize" is often talked about, but it's never actually expanded upon or explained about what it could be. It's viewed as a high honor and the main goal these girls strive for in this book, but that's about it.

One thing I had a hard time finding in this story was the plot, and I soon came to realize something: there isn't one. This story is like reading about a timeline of events that take place, one after another. They're all interconnected, but there's no ulterior or overall center.  Considering I've yet to read a book without a plot, it was a bit of a strange experience. I didn't hate it, but it did make some things a bit unclear and sometimes confusing.

I think the author did a fairly well-done job constructing and developing the characters. I'll be honest, I hated Kate. I thought she was, by far, one of the worse "friends" I'd read about in a book, and I did chuckle a bit when one of their teachers told the other main character, Marine, that "the American" would beat her if she didn't strive to put more effort and want into herself and her dreams.

Branching off from that, I do think that the Small hit the nail on the head with the obvious background knowledge in dancing and ballet. It has been quite a while since I've last been in ballet, but there were terms and descriptions that instantly jumped out to me and were easily recognizable. And even the competition factor this book carried sounded familiar and hit a bit close to home. That being said, I also wish this book would have come with trigger warnings. I went into it unknowing of its content, having not been told by anyone beforehand, and it could have easily been a trigger had I not been in a better headspace.

Moving on, the romance aspect of this book was a bit touchy to me. Kate's experiences with romance were extremely toxic, and I didn't like how there were a few pretty heavy occurrences that were so quickly forgiven by the end of the book. On the other hand, I really like how Marine and Luc's relationship was built up. I think they actually had the most healthy relationship, despite there being a hiccup toward the ending of the book.

Overall, I did like the story. I think there could've been a lot of improvement before publication, but despite the faults, there were quite a few positives. For that, I rate this book 3.25 stars.

Thank you to @algonquinyr and @aksmallwords for having me as part of the book tour for Bright Burning Stars and for the gifted ecopy.

I’ve always been drawn to books about ballet. I competed when I was younger (no where near the level of these dancers, but Canada’s National Ballet School was always the goal and I grew up in the golden age of the company with Karen Kain ) and the author does a great job at creating the insular and often dark atmosphere of the dance world.

There’s the balance between friends and competitors and the very real reality of rampant eating disorders and mental illness at young ages. That moment of fear before being weighed or measured for a costume and the constant rankings of people against each other all brought back memories for me and made my stomach sink. The author created a visceral feel to the reading experience. I’m removed enough from it now I can read about it, but do caution those that may not be there yet. There are a lot of trigger warnings and I’ve included some in the comments and happy to answer anything directly via DM

If you liked Tiny Pretty Things, this is a great one to add to your #tbr.

3.5

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.

In her debut novel, Bright Burning Stars, A.K. Small shows the extremes that two girls face in a Paris ballet school. The novel, which was released in paperback on March 2nd and is the inspiration for the upcoming film Birds of Paradise, is a story that asks the question of how far will you go to reach your dreams.

Small does a fabulous job of showcasing the world of ballet and what it’s like being in a dance school. The friendship between Marine and Kate is bittersweet because while they are best friends, they are also both competing for the same thing: one coveted spot in a professional ballet company. Mix in some boy drama, mental illness, and the pressure to be the best and you’ve got a YA novel with high school drama kicked up a notch!

This book got a bit dark at times with mentions of eating disorders, depression, abortion, suicide, and other mental illnesses; however, these topics only solidified that the world of ballet can be unforgiving and can be as dark as it is beautiful. The topics show the raw and real side to the people who seem perfect and ethereal on the stage. But sometimes there are demons lying just under the surface...

Overall, this book was a fascinating and quick read and I highly recommend it for those looking for a darker contemporary read including flawed protagonists striving for the unattainable: to be perfect.

*I received a copy of the book from Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for my honest opinion.

An excellent, fast-paced read (even though it spans an entire year). I tore through it in just a few hours. I danced intensively as a teenager, just like the author did, and she perfectly captured the dramatic, all-encompassing, often backstabbing world of ballet.

Kate is not all that likable. Marine is a much more likable character. Definite trigger warnings for eating disorders - even looking at the cover is distressing because I believe the girl is supposed to be Marine, and she is shockingly thin. Unfortunately, this is also a realistic aspect of ballet. The reason I quit was because of body image issues, and I really empathized with Marine for this reason.

I loved the dance scenes and all the references to actual ballet moves. The author knows her stuff!

More sexytimes than I anticipated. Goodness gracious. :P

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I mean.... ballet dancers? A friendship turning into rivalry? Angst???? YOU NEED TO READ THIS

I've always loved books about dancers and this one is no exception. It's a wonderful debut which I totally recommend! The story is thrilling, the characters are well-written, and I just had to read it in one sitting!
4.5 stars

Thanks for Algonquin Young Readers for inviting me on this tour and providing me with an e-galley!

First of all, this cover 😍 it's super gorgeous and shiny!! Bright Burning Stars is a story of two ballet friends, both of their eyes set on the final Prize. When things start to get heated, they grapple with love, trust, identity and the meaning of friendship.

I've read one book featuring ballet school and watched two screen adaptations, and by now I guess I can say that there's always this underlying theme in such stories - the immense pressure of ballet, the strictness in the school yet how everybody breaks it, burden of being thin and achieving that desired waist size. And BBS was no exception. All of these themes played a part in here too.

Marine and Kate are two characters that I wish were more developed. They were supposed to have layers, which I could see the author bringing in, but there was a lot of conflicted arc around them. The changes in character was so abrupt and sudden that I as a reader didn't feel connected to. One chapter Marine was goody and the next chapter she was starving herself - there wasn't a smooth stepping up the stairs. The transitions were seamless. The competitiveness showed but it didn't feel big enough. The stakes were there but they weren't high enough for me to root for any of the characters.

However, I did like the plot and how it played out. The dance routines were good. I liked the way the author showed the complexities of friendship and how it tends to deter in the face of competition.

The love interests, though, I couldn't bother about. They didn't feel legit enough for me to root for the ships, really. I did like Luc but we didn't really get to spend enough time with him to actually get to know him. His presence was more towards the end to get a ship sailing.

Having recently watched and read Tiny Pretty Things, I was very much reminded of that. BBS has a stark comparision with TPT, and add a bit of Elite w/o murder. Overall, I think it was an okay read that entertained at some parts.

What I liked:

The beautiful, inventive language. If you’ve been around for a while, you know how much I love when an author crafts unique, unexpected prose. Small created a narrative that’s ultimately supported by its language. Another thing I think is so cool about this book is that, since the book takes place in Paris, the characters are actually speaking French and we get to read it in “translation.” Small captured the fluidity and poetry of the French language in her writing.

The dance environment. As a dancer myself, I found a lot of comfort in the elements of ballet and the culture of the dance world that Small injected into this story. Small herself is a trained dancer and brought so much knowledge and depth to this narrative. It’s easy to tell that she’s an expert world-builder because she perfectly honed the cutthroat, acerbic culture of pre-professional dance.

The characters’ complexity. There’s a sense of cause and effect in this story so that each action, each choice, each development wholly aligns with who each character is and their core desires. I especially loved how Marine and Kate’s characters react to each other, pushing the story along as they spiral and recover at different times in the novel. So cool to read.

What I didn't care for:

The ending. After such a complex and dynamic story, I found the ending a little too optimistic. Spoilers suck, so I won’t say any more than that.

Final thoughts:

Y’all you’ve got to pick up this book. It’s a beautiful, gut-wrenching story about growth, friendship, love, and what it means to define your own success. Highly recommend for all my dancer friends and anyone who wants a story that’s equal parts glitter and grit.

This book is not for the faint at heart... There are some disturbing things that these girls go through in order to be the best at what they do and it's so sad that this isn't exaggerated. These things really do happen in elite sports.
Trigger warnings for drug use, eating disorders and talk of extreme weight loss, teenage pregnancy and abortion, sports injuries, mental abuse, non-consensual sex, teenage sex and probably more that I missed. This book is dark
I went into this book with an open mind. It wasn't the type of book that I normally picked up, but I was willing to give it a shot. At first it started out with the typical teenage drama and I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy it. It was a lot of "I like this boy but my best friend likes him too". It was very after school special, CW drama. But as we went along, and we fell deeper into the spiral of the girls minds, it became very intense and I really enjoyed it. I don't see this being a favorite book but I can definitely say there is an audience for this and those people will really see this as a powerful story.
Video Review - https://youtu.be/x9_F_us-6Wc

Bright Burning Stars is a young adult contemporary novel by A.K. Small. It features two friends as they enter into the world of competitive ballet. I wish I was a better dancer, but I'm awful. But I have always been really intrigued by books about dancers, so when I saw Bright Burning Stars was about the cutthroat world of ballet, I was all in. I really enjoyed this book. I devoured it in one sitting because once I picked it up, I just couldn't stop reading. This was as addictive as a reality TV show for me (which is very high praise from my reality tv loving self!) I think this book is perfect for both fans of ballet, as well as newbies in this space (like I am!)


In Bright Burning Stars we meet our two main characters, Kate and Marine as they both get into their dream school- the Paris Opera Ballet School. The book is told in alternating points of view between the two girls.  I loved how character focused Bright Burning Stars was. We really got to know Kate and Marine. Watching everything they go through individually and how their successes and/or failures impact them and impact their friendship was fascinating. And of course, there is a boy. One the students at the school dub the demigod no less. This drives a wedge between the girls who are both dealing with their stressors in very different ways.


I really hope that A.K. Small writes more novels in the dance world because I loved this book! I will note that it is an intense ride. There is a lot that goes on in the competitive world of any sport, and Ballet is no different. There are extreme physical stress the dancers have to endure as well as extreme mental stress and distress with the competitive aspect itself as well as all of the mental mind games that the students would play to try and get an edge. I think this book was a fascinating peek inside the intense world of competitive ballet as well as an intriguing look at some of students. I really enjoyed Bright Burning Stars.

In the six grueling years that Kate and Marine have spent together at Nanterre, Paris’ Opera Ballet School, they have become best friends. Together they spend hours of rigorous practice, sitting with their feet plunged in buckets of ice, and counting every calorie. But can you truly be friends with your competition?

Kate and Marine are in their final year at Nanterre. Both are at the top of their division. But everyone knows that only the number one girl wins the ultimate prize: an invitation to the Opera’s ballet company.

As the final cuts draw nearer, Kate and Marine both make dangerous decisions to try to better their chances, only to risk everything.

This story pulls back the curtain and looks at the uglier things in the world of ballet. It shows how competitive and cut-throat it can be and what these performers sacrifice to become such beautiful dancers.

A.K. Small has written two great characters that are haunted by their pasts. Kate sought out love and attention from all the wrong boys and relief in things that offered no escape, while Marine silently punished herself. Both girls needed guidance and counseling. I could feel the pressure these students were under though; something was going to break, if not their bodies then certainly their spirits.

TW: abortion, drugs, eating disorder, suicide ideation

Thank you to @algonquinyr @aksmallwords for this advance copy for review

Bright Burning Stars follows two young dancers, Marine and Kate, as they work towards their dream of becoming professional dancers, and winning first prize in a competition to be selected for a ballet company.

The book switches between perspectives, which for the most part was interesting. Getting the two different storylines, and also the different angles of the same events was also interesting. At times, however, it was difficult to notice a change in the perspectives. There were times when I would be reading and I wouldn’t be able to tell who was narrating, until something more defining to one of the characters happened, like talking to the other protagonist. There was a lot of individuality in the characters themselves, but there was not as much in the writing.

Marine was a fascinating character and one who I was definitely rooting for the whole story. The way that her past, and the story with Oli, a character, unfolded throughout the book was fascinating and was very well done. Marine also really struggled with her weight and with body image, and throughout the book suffered from an eating disorder. The way that was written I thought was done well, with how it was addressed, and with how it was discussed by the different characters.

On the other hand, I did not like Kate. She seemed to on one hand be fully invested in her dance career, and clearly was, however some of her decisions were really careless, and she really had trouble learning from her past mistakes. She so depended on the approval and attention of others, yet she was not always the best friend to Marine. Her storyline and character arc were very interesting to read about though, and I think that the way that her character was written was great.

Cyrille was one character who was very interesting, very well written, and was a character that I absolutely despised. In the beginning, he is portrayed as perfect, because that is how Marine and Kate see his dancing (and he is an incredible dancer). However, as the book goes on, more and more about him as a person is revealed.

Luc was wonderful, and I think really deserved more. He is another dancer at the school, and although he plays an important role in the book, I think that he should have had more backstory and that we should have gotten to know more about him.

The plot itself didn’t have one key turning moment or revolve around one specific thing, but more followed the dancers over months of their life, leading up to the final selection of dancers. The plot was very compelling, and I was constantly entertained while reading.

The book handles more serious topics such as depression and eating disorders very well, all set on a backdrop that was fleshed out in a way that only added to the depth of the book. I really enjoyed reading it, and would definitely recommend it to someone wanting to read a darker and more serious YA book about young ballet dancers.


I really enjoyed reading Bright Burning Stars, and I think that it is a wonderful book. It does contain more serious and dark topics, which I think are handled and written very well, and has a compelling plot that pulls the reader in.