3.5 Stars

'Bright Burning Stars' is a dark young adult contemporary novel that focuses on two best friends, their time at a prestigious ballet academy in Paris, and what they are willing to do to become the best and win the ultimate prize. I don't have any dance background, so I found the plot of this book to be very interesting for many reasons. I've read other books and I've seen movies about ballet and how intense and cutthroat it can be, especially when something like the Prize - a spot on the corps de ballet - is at stake, but I thought this novel took an even deeper look inside this world and the people who make it their entire lives. There's definitely some heavy topics discussed throughout the book - some may even be considered triggers - and I thought it was fascinating that the author included them. It made the characters all the more realistic because they were fighting inner demons and real world problems just like the rest of us. It made me connect with them and really empathize with their situations.

I loved the two main characters - Marine and Kate. What made the book really stand out for me was the author's use of the dual narrative (alternating between Kate and Marine) and the use of the first person POV. This is by far my favorite writing style because it allows the reader to connect on a deeper level to the narrator(s) and get inside their minds. This was definitely the case with this novel and I thought it made the story all the more intense and real. We get to see what each girl is thinking and feeling throughout the book, their hopes and dreams, their fears and insecurities, and their true feelings about everything around them - from themselves to other people and even ballet itself. I loved that the author chose to write the story in this way and I don't think it would've had the same positive effect if it had been done in another POV. This was a perfect fit and really allowed the reader access to both main characters at once.

I'm not going to go into the plot because I don't do spoilers and the majority of the book contains big events and revelations about the characters. I'll just say that it was an inside look at the dark side of ballet and also the dark side that people have inside of them. The story had a quick pace, which made it hard to put down. It was well written and most of the aspects of the novel were wonderfully done, which made it a huge surprise when I found out this was the author's debut. It definitely speaks to her talent as a writer and storyteller, and I'll be keeping an eye out for her next release. I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of YA fiction, contemporary fiction, and fans of ballet or other dance related books.

Rating: 4 Stars

Triggers: disordered eating, body dysmorphia, self-harm, parental abandonment, drug use, drinking, suicide/suicide attempt, abortion & complex emotions afterward



I will be honest, this book was gripping and also hard to read at times. The characters were so very real and raw that it was very easy to forget that this is just a book. I as a reader find this a very good trait when it comes to these kinds of stories or any really. Stories are meant to make us feel something and possibly to learn. But I know you want more info than it was a hard book emotionally for me.

Our two main characters are Marine Duval and Kate Sanders. Both of these girls are good at what they do. But when it comes down to it the main theme running through this book was competition versus friendship.

Bright Buring stars within the story capture the cattiness and the drama that can be so prevalent in the dancing troupes. And I feel it was so well written thanks to the fact that A.K Smalls was a dancer herself.

This is a story that is going to stay with you days later, if not even longer. I will say for those of us who are not ready for the triggers and want a fluffy book, this one is not for you. But if you are really for a read that will challenge you

So thank you again  Algonquin Young Readers and Netgally for this arc!

Till next time at the Nook!

E.

Hi my lovelies! Today I have a review I am so so so excited about! I shared my excitement for this release last week when I hosted the blog tour, but I had no idea what I was in for. This debut is a haunting and intricate look at the competitive and cutthroat world of ballet. It was an incredibly well-done novel, and I cannot thank Algonquin Young Readers enough for reaching out to me and inviting me to read this.

I do need to highlight the massive amount of trigger warnings that this book should, and doesn’t, come with. There’s drug abuse, eating disorders, suicide, even teen pregnancy/abortion. I have to admit I was shocked by how deep this book gets with those topics and how well-written and constructed it is. These harsher topics aren’t used at plot points, but are more important to the characters and central story, which I genuinely appreciate.

What I enjoy most about this book are the two main characters, Kate and Marine. They each have their own little quirks and flaws and go through so so many ups and downs during this story, it was hard to tell what the major plot points were. These ups and downs make this an incredibly fast-paced and deeply compelling read. I couldn’t believe how quickly I devoured this book, once I started it was impossible for me to put down.

I can’t highlight enough how well-done this book is. It had such an air of authenticity that I really felt like I was at this ballet academy. We get to see some really great character arcs through this novel and at the same time we leave characters falling back into their normal patterns, but in some strange way I found it immensely satisfying. I don’t want to talk too much about plot because I don’t want to give anything away, but I absolutely adored how this ended, it literally brought tears to my eyes.

This novel was nothing short of a roller coaster ride, but damn I enjoyed it. From the spectacular writing, to the intriguing and haunting plot, to the perfectly imperfect characters, this one powerhouse debut that YA lovers shouldn’t miss.

ᏗᏬᏖᏂᏋᏁᏖᎥፈ. ᏗᏰᏕᎧᏒᏰᎥᏁᎶ. ᎴᏗᏒᏦ.

A.K. Small’s debut is authentic, absorbing, and dark. Marine and Kate have trained their entire lives to be ballet dancers. They are attending an elite ballet school in Paris. A rigorous competitive program with weekly rankings and only one female and one mail dancer earning a spot in the company at the end of it all. Kate and Marine have always been the best of friends, but can their friendship survive as the competition gets hotter?“What would you do for the prize?“

The competition, the pain, the stress, it was all so intense. Marine had amazing musicality and danced for her twin brother Ollie who had passed away. Kate has tremendous passion and a fire in her belly that was fueled when her mother abandoned her. Both girls had likable and not so likable qualities. I felt for them because they were living such a competitive life. I’d imagine being judged and raided every single week would lead to tremendous jealousy. There was always that nagging question of what would you do? How far would you go? The girls had even created a game around it, but at some point it’s as though the game turned into reality.

This book also addressed many serious issues such as eating disorders, depression, abortion, obsession, and drug use. I applaud the author for taking these issues on, I’m sure they are prevalent in the dance world. However, I kind of felt as though these issues were just glossed over with no real resolution or consequence. This is a young adult book and I do want to make it clear that these issues were also not glorified, they just probably needed some more comprehensive discussion. My daughter was a competitive dancer (yes I was a dance mom) certainly not at this level, but I did find a lot of this very relatable. Made me wonder though how this would appeal to people without much dance knowledge? There is a lot of dance terminology, not that you need to know it to understand the book. But this is a book about dance, the dance world, the dancers, end it is dark. And it is real. And it is raw. Just like the dancers leave it all on the stage, Miss Small left it all on the pages of this book.

*** many thanks to Algonquin for my copy of this book ***

This book was so different than what I expected. While the initial synopsis seems eery, this book actually turned out to be very dark. It delved into a lot of deep topics, which in hindsight, should have been expected from reading the previews.

One of the most interesting things about this story was the two main characters, Marine and Kate, two best friends that formed a close bond throughout their early days at the Paris Opera Ballet School. While they seemed similar in the beginning, they developed into two very different young women. The timing of the chaos in their lives parallels, however they deal with their issues very differently. It was almost like they were written by two different authors!

Throughout the novel, one of my favourite features was the frequent incorporation of common french phrases and words. I haven’t been in a french class in quite a while, so it was fun for me to try and remember what these phrases meant and how they related to the events that the two characters were in. But if you don’t speak or know any French, don’t fret! There are english definitions provided for you after most of the phrases/words.

As I wrote previously, this book was much darker than I assumed it would be. There are a lot of triggering themes in this novel, including an eating disorder, mental illness, emotionally abusive friendships and relationships, discussions about suicide, abortion, and more. While I don’t want to spoil anything for you, I will say that if this book is a realistic fictional way of describing things that go on in real life ballet academies, I am so glad that I never went into one. Not only are the ballerinas constantly battling with each other to be on top of the rankings, they are also dealing with internal and social problems that occur outside of dance. It is scary to think that these things might happen regularly.

Besides the darker themes, there is a lot of cliche teenage drama. SO much drama. Including relationships, jealousy, and appearance. Personally, I could have done without a lot of it, but I understand why so much of it was left in the book.

I would have loved to have read more about their lives inside dance studios, and more about their daily schedules, routines, and course-loads, as they are not discussed majorly at all within this story. I would have also enjoyed to see more diverse characters in the novel, as I assumed that all of them were white and heterosexual.

The writing in this novel was another thing that I enjoyed a lot. I found the pacing quite irregular and inconsistent, which brought a long many unexpected twists. However, the writing style may not be for everyone.

Bright Burning Stars was the first book I’ve read that had gone this deep, into this much depth on ballet. Other books had referenced it or the main character was teaching it but I never readany that had to do with learning the dance style itself. Bright Burning Stars went deep in depth. A.K. Small had been born in France and studied in ballet her whole life. So she knew what she was writing about.

Marine and Kate were nearly model students and best friends. Something that “apparently” didn’t exist in this uber competitive world.

Kate, a foreigner from America, didn’t have rhythm and was missing some of the technicalities. But she had stage presence and that counted for almost more. The trouble with Kate is that she had her mind occasionally preoccupied with the opposite gender. Saar, Cyrill and Brandon. She would put too much stock in them and that caused more problems than what should have happened. She also had just a touch of manipulation which didn’t bode well for making friends. Thus isolating herself more and making things worse. So much worse. Poor Kate suffered quite a bit in Bright Burning Stars. Kate was not mentally healthy and she slowly, so slowly, realized this throughout the story. But that unhealthiness caused a downward spiral that only stopped after Marine stepped in.

Although, she had her own problems. Marine was not dancing for herself and therefore put way too much pressure on herself to succeed. She was not preoccupied by the opposite gender but rather on her looks. Not in vanity, but in an extremely unhealthy way. The Demigod, Cyrille, and Luc were the two boys that had a major impact on Marine’s life. They both helped and hindered her in their own way. Marine, as said by Kate in the book, was somewhat naive and prone to believe what everyone was saying. She didn’t want to think about anything other than succeeding. Because of that, Marine put a lot of stock on actions and that only increased the pressure on her. She had to show the person she promised that she succeeded.

In the end, both girls get healthier and get back together. But they each had to suffer before that to happen. Bright Burning Stars was an extremely well written book. A.K. Small’s writing was amazing. The imagery was superb and she tackled hard, still somewhat taboo subjects with delicacy yet strength. The incidents in this book was eye-opening. The peek into the competitive world of ballet, enticing. It made me realize that to make magic, you need blood, sweat and tears.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Brittani from Algonquin Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


Real rating: 3,5 stars.

The premises captivated me from the start - it kinda had "Black Swan" vibes all around.

We follow Marine and Kate inside their lives and their minds for almost a year.
Since the beginning we're told they're friends for years, moon-sisters through a pact made a long time ago where they shared their sad family histories: Marine lost her twin brother Oli and she's dancing for him and Kate was abandoned by her mother and dancing is all she wants to do.
But we can see something's wrong because their friendship isn't exactly healthy: Kate is manipulative, jealous and insecure and Marine doesn't always seem to notice, taking everything Kate does the way it is.

If you were worried about a love triangle, you can stop now: there isn't really one.
And I was basically unimpressed by Cyrille, the Demigod - I preferred Luc, another rat at Nanterre.

I liked how "Bright Burning Star" delved inside this friendship - a friendship that was apparently solid, but that cracked under pressure.
Because it's the last year for them at Nanterre and eveyone wants The Prize - are there limits that can't be crossed?
The competition is brutal and even Marine and Kate know they can't both win.

We read about them falling out of friendship due to secrets, truths, silence, misunderstandings - even when one of them is trying to reach out, the other shuts her out.
Their life together becomes something foreign, a dream of the past - still the toxicity somehow remains in their interactions, even when they start to live separate lives at school.

I always liked Marine a little bit better since the beginning (even if it's not exactly clear if she has ambitions of her own or if she's doing everything to honor Oli), but I was worried about Kate and her unhealthy romantic relationships - meaning that she had a distorted vision of how them are/were supposed to be.
The author addresses different topics: drug abuse, depression, suicide, eating disorders, abortion, mental illness - even if it isn't specifically addressed that way.
Still, we don't really see the aftermath or how these issues are tackled - adults also seem really oblivious to them - and they could've been handled better, but we get how serious they are.

It took me two weeks to read it because work got the best of me and sleep got the rest, but when I was alert enough to stay awake I enjoyed the good writing and I was curious about the ending because the plot still intrigued me.
Also, I really like books about girls falling out of friendship and I got what I wanted.

Marine and Kate come from very different backgrounds but they forge a friendship that has gotten them through their time at the Paris Ballet Opera School. This friendship is one that they think will get them through anything, but as time goes on and things get more competitive everything changes.
Kate makes decisions and gets close to someone that doesn't really care about her. All while Marine is determined to do anything she can to get the top spot and stay thin enough.
We get to see their final year at the Paris Ballet school told in both their perspectives. This story isn't an easy one to read and has mentions of eating disorders and drug use.
Overall I had mixed feelings about this story. I really enjoyed the beginning and the ending of this story. I personally could have done without a lot of what happened in the middle, this part of the story really just dragged for me sadly.
Kate and Marine as characters I went back and forth on liking and not being able to stand them. This part was also what made me like this story, getting to see them grow and change throughout the story was realistic at times. They are young and learning and making mistakes as times go on and living in a very high-pressure environment. The author did a great job of showing how alienated all of the dancers were at times and how they each dealt with this in different ways. This part was really fascinating to me and I loved the ending so much because it really showed how much they had changed from the beginning of the story to the end.

3.5 stars

I am going to start this review with a trigger warning. This is needed because of some content in the book. There are abortion, anorexia, and drug use in the book. Also, there are scenes of forced sexual contact for the drugs. If you are triggered in any way by those, I would recommend not to read the book.

Bright Burning Stars is a dark book. I wasn’t expecting it to address what I talked about in the above paragraph. I was taken aback and surprised by that. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. I have read books where abortion, anorexia, and drug use have run rampant. What surprised me was how calm the characters were about this stuff. That includes the adults. I was left shaking my head after some scenes.

I was shocked that Kate and Marine’s friendship lasted as long as it did. Their friendship was an anomaly in a world where competition and being the best was everything. Kate’s relationship (for lack of a better word) with the Demigod started the end of their friendship. Everything after that added fire to the flames.

I learned more than I ever wanted to know about ballet. I knew that it was a very competitive dance. I knew that there were schools dedicated to it. What I didn’t realize was that the girls were held to an impossible standard. They had weight checks. That breakdowns, drug use, and suicide were common. I shouldn’t have been shocked by what the book revealed. But I was.

I wasn’t sure if I liked the final chapter of the book. In a way, everyone got what they wanted. It didn’t sit right with me. But then again, with what Marine did and what Kate threatened to do, it went well with what the book was about.

I did like the book. But I wasn’t expecting the book to be so dark. I also wasn’t expecting the triggers. I also don’t think that Bright Burning Stars should be for young adults. New Adult, maybe. Young adult, no. Those are the reasons why I rated the book a 3.5 rating.

I love books having to deal with ballet so when I was invited to join the blog tour I jumped at it. While I enjoyed this book I was expecting a little bit more of a murder mystery and maybe friends becoming enemies as they try to win both the boy and the number one spot what I got was something completely different, what I got was a story about two friends who are trying to keep their friendship even as the competition becomes cut throat and the people around them including themselves become manipulative.

Bright burning stars follows two girls Marine and Kate who have been best friends since they first entered the ballet academy and bonded over both their love of dance and their own tragedy. Now in there last year at the academy the competition is heating up and both girls are finding their friendship starting to fray as the pressure to be number one thus winning a spot in the company starts to eat at them.(only the number one boy and girl win the spot.) both Kate and Marine start to question what they would do to win and as the year goes on and the competition becomes fiercer they start to crack under the pressure and lose sight of themselves and eachother while they focus on one thing and one thing only ballet.



I’m going to be honest here while I enjoyed reading this book I had a very hard time telling the narrative apart both Kate and Marine sound almost the same and i had to go back several time to see who I was reading, with that said I still really enjoyed the book not because of the characters but because of the ballet (which was my favorite part of the book). I enjoyed reading about how competitive the school was and how manipulative the characters were and how they would do anything (and I mean anything, including seducing and sabotaging, drug use and not eating) to get what they wanted.



I loved the ending and it made me very happy, I loved how both girls found there place and where they wanted to be and how while frayed during the year that their friendship still shone brightly.



This book is a very heavy read it deals with eating disorders, drug use, pregnancy, abortion and suicidal ideation and at times I thought that it was a little bit overwhelming having so many heavy subjects shoved into one book. Because of all the heavy subjects I would caution people before they read this book so they know what their getting into before picking it up, But if you love dance and ballet I would definitely recommend bright burning stars.

.
Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for sending me a eARC of the book and inviting me to the blog tour

Upon reading the first page of the book, I knew instantly I was in for a ride. For some reason, Bright Burning Stars felt darker and more intense compared to other ballet fictions I’ve read before (even more than TPT and SBP that I’ve claimed as the most dramatic and insane YA fictions).

If you’re looking for books that really dig deep into the darker side of the ballet world, Bright Burning Stars is a must-read. It has more focus on the ballet world itself. As someone who enjoys character development in a story, it was a bit of a disappointment. We did get to know more about each character, but there was nothing big in development.

The book focuses on the world itself – this high-stakes world where only the top ballerinas can succeed. Things like injury, pregnancy, and gaining weights will definitely end their career. All the things I mentioned happened in the book. Throw in eating disorder, mental health issues, and heartbreak – it created the perfect dramatic and intense settings.

Between the two characters, Marine and Kate, it was easy to root for Marine. She is essentially the good girl in the story. While I understand Kate’s motives, there are many moments where I couldn’t agree with her. I know that it’s because at the end of the day, I hold more similar values with Marine than Kate. She’s just everyone’s best friend and I found myself hoping that Marine could survive in the crazy world as she could be a little naive. Especially compared to Kate who’s good at the games.

All in all, Bright Burning Stars is a great ballet book. If you are looking for ballet fictions, this one is worth reading.

3.5

In my own mind, ballet or dance books fall into two categories: those that focus on the euphoria of performance, especially when aware that one is dancing their best, and then there are those that look at the darker side of dance.

Take a glance at the cover. Pretty, isn’t it?

But look at that dancer’s eyes. It’s a very suitable cover for this book, centered around a pair of dancers at the prestigious Paris Opera House ballet school in Paris. These two girls swear eternal friendship—while competing strenuously, along with the rest of their class of “rats,” to be the single dancer chosen to get the Prize, a chance of promotion to the Opera House.

A dancer I once knew told me about a recurring dream she had: she walked out onto the stage to perform barefoot. The stage was covered with what appeared to be glittering snow, but as she took her first leap, she looked down to discover it was really glass shards. And somehow she had to keep herself dancing in the air, for if she landed, she knew the glass would cut her feet to ribbons.

Reading Bright Burning Stars brought back that dream told me some thirty years ago. The details of ballet are impeccable in this book. The plot gains tremendous velocity as our two dancers, Kate and Marine, compete with their class, and with each other, not only for the Prize, but for the attention of the charismatic boy who leads the male dancers, whose self-absorbed drive would give any girl outside of that high-octane atmosphere serious pause.

Who will excel enough to win? By the time you find out, ending the book with somewhat the same emotional exhaustion of a day-long rehearsal, you reflect on the price of that contest, which runs the gamut of mental illness, suicide, emotional dysfunction, abortion, drug abuse, and of course the extremes of self-abuse in order to achieve that admired skeletal profile. It’s compellingly written, but all in all, it’s more a cautionary tale than a celebration of the sheer exhilaration of dance.

About the only debut-writer problem I found with the prose in this book was the occasional interlarding of French phrases—which were then translated into English, calling awkward attention to the fact that the book takes place in Paris, and everybody is speaking French. Perhaps the editor gave that a pass (or even demanded it) because the book is slanting for a teen audience, which makes it even more puzzling—I’d think that any reader who is able to deal with abortion, drug use, suicide, eating disorders, and severe emotional disfunction is more than capable of figuring out simple sentences from context. (If she’s not already studying French because of an interest in ballet.)

Dark, twisty, trigger-filled story.

So I was intrigued by the concept of the competitive world of ballet. What I learned upon reading this story is that I am thankful that I never wanted to enter that world.

It is cutthroat, destructive, unhealthy, and over the top competitive if this story is even close to the real deal. Kate and Marine have been best friends since they started at the Paris Opera ballet school. However, they are now vying for the premier dance spot that will propel their ballet careers.

In addition, boys are now entering the mix of their friendship - one boy in particular, the Demigod. Cyrille was that typical popular boy that turns out to be not who you imagine him to be. For better or worse - you'll have to read to find out.

I, like several readers, have mixed feelings on this book. It took me awhile to get into the story, but once I was pulled in - I had to know what happens. The French phrasing was distracting at times, but lent charm to the story as well. The unhealthy relationships were hard to connect to with the only characters I truly liked were Marine and Luc (except for that one part).

If ballet is an interest - you will likely find this story fascinating, but be warned - it contains some dark content to get through.

I think the writing was intriguing, but I would have liked to know where the characters ended up, but maybe it is best that I don't.

I voluntarily requested and reviewed an uncorrected advance reader copy.

some trigger warnings for this book: drug use, mental illness, abortion, eating disorders, assault.

let me put it this way: Bright Burning Stars is Suspiria minus the witches but with all the dark stuff and a side of NA that I truly never expected to like as much as I did. I read this book in a single sitting and I’m still—as Grantaire from Les Mis very brilliantly would say—agog and aghast. in all shocking ways you can imagine, this book is both brutal and grim while just barely managing to stay at the very edge of the thin line between realistic fiction and full-on horror.

so many things happened in such a relatively short book, but Bright Burning Stars masterfully carries the weight of every single hefty and powerful tragedy. A.K. Small’s emotional writing style will sweep you off your feet from the very first page, and although I found the book a little hard to get into at first, once you settle in you’ll be carried off by all the drama and the constant suspense. I absolutely love the superficial, archetypical depth of the secondary characters compared to the constantly developing intensity and complexity of our two main girls, Marine and Kate. I love that A.K. Small didn’t shy away from the more somber plot points, and her twisted little book genuinely shines in my eyes for that.

Bright Burning Stars truly did take me by surprise. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting going into it, but at least now I know that an anxiety-ridden and borderline horror-fueled rivalry between ballet dancers is definitely right up my alley and something that I very unexpectedly but wholeheartedly enjoyed. I’m super excited for its release date!! thanks again to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for providing a free copy of this book!!

CW: disordered eating, body dysmorphia, self harm, parental abandonment, drug use, drinking, suicide/suicide attempt, abortion & complex emotions afterwards

The world that Marine and Kate inhabit along with the other students at their ballet academy, Nanterre, is a juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness, darkness and light. With intense devotion to their craft, it will take everything they have to become peak performers, but does everyone have it or will the friendship that Marine and Kate have shared since their earliest student days fracture under the pressure?

Bright Burning Stars was a gripping story that engulfed my weekend. From watching Marine & Kate's friendship undergo trials to their experience at a hyper competitive ballet academy, it was a whirlwind to read.

Kate felt overwhelmingly naive at times. Her flaw was that she was too easily influenced by others. She was continually being swayed by people (their standings if they were fellow girls), their whims (Cyrille/Benjamin) so very easily. This was at odds with her intense passion & drive for her craft, which leads to some particularly intense plots moments for her.

Marine also had a conflicting time. Her personality was different from Kate's and it affected their experiences in the school (the pressures, the tests, etc.). There was a heavier feeling for much of her point of view. I enjoyed the moments she found with Luc and Little Alice because it seemed that they were moments of peace in the otherwise fraught environment of the school.

The precedent set for how the students treated one another was saddening & a bit frightening because of the pressure within themselves & the rules instituted by the school. Something as simple as a kiss on the cheek for the youngest students, eleven years of age, according to the rules would show favoritism and undue emotion. I understand that of course there would be pressure from only so many being able to rise, but at the expense of showing empathy? compassion? What does this make the dancers into?

Some of the darker moments concern body dysmorphia, eating disorder descriptions, and grieving scenes post-abortion.  While the portrayal of an abortion (access, consent, etc) was good as far as I could tell, the person in question does have some intense emotions thereafter. Those moments, as well as the aforementioned darker moments, may be triggering to some readers, hence the CWs at the beginning of the review. Having said that, I think that for me, the instances the author chose to talk about regarding one character's E.D., specifically food restricting, highlighting one's body, etc., were a little more explicit than I was comfortable with. 

A.K. Small demonstrated an elegance in the motions of her characters through the use of technical ballet terms and beautiful scenes that encapsulate them. Some of the terms were more familiar than others & looking the others up rounded out these scenes beautifully in my mind. Bright Burning Stars pulls threads from many emotional parts of the brain & heart to weave a story that is beautiful & terrible & written in a manner that will pull you along to the music of the tale because you will want to know what happens to the entire company before the final curtain call.

I fell in love with this cover and was eager to read this book. I love books with dance in them and thought this would offer a good glimpse into the competitiveness of ballet. However, I have never been a fan of toxic female relationships; there are few books I've read where I thought that was done successfully. Unfortunately, there was a lot of problematic issues that stemmed from Marine and Kate's friendship and not all were handled well.

Bright Burning Stars touches on ballet culture, eating disorders, abortion, and toxic relationships (both friendship and romantic). It was a lot of serious topics, probably too many to tackle in one book, and I wasn't a fan of how many were handled. I wish they would have been explored in more detail and fleshed out better.

I received an advanced copy from Algonquin Young Readers in return for an honest review.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Would you die for The Prize?"

That's a legitimate question for Marine and Kate, girls who have been training together for years at the Paris Opera Ballet Studio. If the competition doesn't get them, the pressure might. Since childhood, they've been training to win The Prize: the two slots - one boy, one girl - to join the corps de ballet. If they lose, they'll have wasted years and years of blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention they'll be asked to leave the school i n shame. And so, in their last year before the final competition that will decide their fate, its time for each girl to ask themselves: what would they do for The Prize?

Marine and Kate started off as roommates, became friends, and throughout the years grew to be closer than sisters. Through all their trials and struggles, they had each other's back. Each has their own struggles: Marine struggles with her weight and has significant body dysmorphia, and Kate is constantly battling depression that threatens to pull her under with every upset. Initially they bonded over their shared history of loss: Kate's mother, and Marine's twin brother Oli; their similar pasts held them together when everything else threatened to tear them apart. They even forged a pact when they were little: if the company wouldn't take them both, it couldn't have either of them. But as the pressure mounts, the reality that there is only one spot becomes more and more glaring, and loyalties are tested and called into question more than ever. And as each girl is forced to confront her inner demons head-on, it's unclear if their friendship and love for each other is enough to overcome their desire to win and love of The Prize.

I ended up giving this book 2.5 stars. I haven't read a book based at a ballet academy before and really enjoyed the setting. I danced ballet a lot when I was younger (although I was never very good) and remember the feeling of flying across the floor, and how free I felt. I loved getting a little bit of that feeling back through this story. I also enjoyed the author's writing, and look forward to reading more by her.

While I didn't love either main character separately, I related with each of them for different reasons. I felt at first like they were each the opposite side of the other's coin, balancing each other out. Marine is more serious and dancing for her brother's memory; nothing will keep her from honoring him by winning The Prize. Kate is full of life and dances with a fiery passion, but just as her highs are sky-high and bright, her lows come on just as quickly and fall just as far. However, as we read on, it becomes clear that the friendship is definitely toxic and this is never really addressed. I will also mention that Kate's depression was never labeled, addressed, or acknowledged by Kate herself, her family, friends, or faculty, which I found extremely problematic.

"I loved everything about Marine - her fierce loyalty, sunny outlook, willingness to share all she had, even her family, what was left of it. Marine was my bridge, the person that made France and Nanterre turn into something besides a war zone. Like I'd said to Cyrille, Marine was family."

I also didn't love Cyrille, the top male dancer at the school - the girls call him the Demigod, and are sure that sharing his spotlight will help their careers along as well. I didn't trust him for one single minute. BUT. Luc. Marine's best guy friend. I loved him and my heart will beat for him forever and ever. No matter what happened, he was always there for her with a kind word and music to brighten her day, and his loyalty never wavered. His friendships were never secondary to his desire for The Prize, and he was honestly the very best character in this story. Branch-off book? PLEASE?

Watching these characters grow and develop throughout the story was truly the best part of this book, and the author did it so well. Even if I didn't like the character themselves, their arcs were fascinating and so so satisfying. They reached discovered things about themselves they hadn't recognized before. Mistakes were made and hearts were broken, but in the end each character got to realize what was truly important to them, and there was a kind of poetic beauty to that - even if their stories were wrapped up with kind of "magic fixes" and weren't entirely realistic.

"I realize that I'd forgotten the essential: the why I danced. My heart had been so busy beating only for boys that little by little, even ballet, what I loved most in the world, had gone by the wayside."

I did have some definite issues with this book. It slowed down a lot in the middle, and I felt like it really dragged the plot out. I also felt like the synopsis mislead me a little bit - I was expecting more of a murder mystery type plot, but the death mentioned in the synopsis was really only talked about in one or two sentences. But the biggest issue I had was this: this book has major eating disorder triggers, and there were no trigger warnings mentioned anywhere. Marine struggles with severe body dysmorphia, and essentially almost starves herself in pursuit of the prize. She is obsessed with counting her ribs that protrude and pinching the skin at her hips, and not a chapter goes by where it is not mentioned. Now, hear me out. I understand the ballet culture is very focused on body image and weight, and I understand that Marine definitely had some issues that were being portrayed as a foil to Kate's depression. HOWEVER. It was super heavy handed and overdone, and without any trigger warnings prior, I was not in the right mind space to read this book. So friends, if ED triggers are a problem for you, I caution you to steer clear.

Other trigger warnings include: talks/mentions of suicide, drug abuse, starvation/ED/body dysmorphia, death of a sibling, abortion/teen pregnancy (the decision is never really dealt with by the person and continues to haunt them for the rest of the book), parent abandonment.

Overall, I gave this book 2.5 stars, and like I mentioned, loved the setting and really enjoyed the writing. Obviously it had some major issues with dark topics that were not addressed well, and I hope in any future books these are handled a bit better. I look forward to reading more by A.K. Small in the future, and I hope you guys enjoy her writing as well!

"That's when I decided to stay, to live, because weren't patterns, especially fraught ones, meant to be broken?"

Bright Burning Stars is releasing on May 21.

*All quotations are taken from an ARC and are subject to change prior to publication.

This was a truly excellent book. Everything from the plot, characters, and relationships were magnificently crafted, and I couldn't help but be captivated by the way A.K. masterfully weaved together a story of two very different girls who both had many flaws, yet still managed to be worth rooting for. It's an understatement to say Bright Burning Stars swept me off my feet, as I honestly was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

But the thing is, I almost put this book down.

For the first 30% or so, I was sceptical of the way the author was handling heavy topics such as mental health and disordered eating. You see, in the book, the two main characters both feel pressured to restrict their bodies of proper nourishment in order to stay "in shape", or in other words, look like what an accomplished ballerina is "expected" to look like. And I don't have a problem with this, as I understand that eating disorders are unfortunately common in the world of dance and that they should be discussed and brought awareness to. But I guess you could say my concern was that the author wasn't actually addressing these characters' struggles with eating as what they were-- mental illnesses. The glorification of mental illness is something that I, and many others I'm certain, despise seeing in literature, which is why I was slightly reluctant to continue reading Bright Burning Stars. I felt like the way Kate and Marine viewed food and calories was something to take seriously, and again, I was worried that the author wasn't showing that the way the girls' were thinking was dangerous and that it's not something readers should embrace or fall into. 

But thankfully, the author did do that, as one of the two protagonists ends up in a heartbreaking situation where she is forced to confront her unhealthy habits and seek help to get out of them.

With that being cleared up, I can honestly say that I loved this book! 

For starters, as I briefly mentioned previously in this review, both of the main characters won special places in my heart. The girls were both determined, passionate, and unwilling to give up on their goals, yet they were also different in so many ways. Kate's burning desire to win the prize that led to some of the questionable choices she made throughout the book was a complex aspect of the plot that I really enjoyed reading. And I could say the same thing about the intense grief, sorrow, and guilt Marine feels when she thinks of the accident that took the life of her beloved brother, Oli. And while these differences certainly made Kate and Marine stand out as unique, individual characters, there was one thing that they shared in common throughout the whole novel, from the first page to the last: their unflinching love for one another that remained strong no matter what obstacle got in way-- Whether it was the Demigod, the Prize, or the secret that Kate spent a great portion of the book harbouring, at the end of the day, Kate and Marine's bond was heartwrenchingly unbreakable. Even though their relationship faced hardships, they still cared for each other in a way that only true friends do.

Aside from characters, another thing I really loved about Bright Burning Stars was the ending. Many things were left unsolved-- how Kate would move on from a devastating loss she faced in the book, what Marine would do to accept what happened to her brother, and most importantly, what would become of the two girls' friendship. But I think that's the beauty of it all. A.K. Small leaves nothing set in stone. None of the previously listed plot-points are completely determined, so it's up to us, the readers, to let our minds ponder the possibilities of what the fates of Marine and Kate could withhold.

Overall, I'm so grateful for the emotional experience reading this book has given me. The story of Marine and Kate is one that I won't be forgetting any time soon, as it has touched me in a way more memorable than I can put into words.

My Review: I have been in love with the world of Ballet for years. I think in my next life maybe I will choose one where that will be my path in life. Dancing!! I have to say that this book was a wonderful debut. It centers around the competition of dance and with a murder tossed in it was one I couldn't out down. I will say that readers need to be away of some major trigger warnings that I have added to the go into this one knowing. So please be warned about those.

This is one title that even with the trigger warnings that I really did enjoy. It was intense and a true depiction of how teens deal with situations that they are tossed into. I think the take away from this one is one that is also from the movie Center Stage. That yes you can go after what you want. But when that dream no longer makes you happy maybe its time to find a new one.

This story pits friend against friend in an intense debut that asks how far will you go to win?

Go Into This One Knowing: Eating disorders, body dysmorphia, abortion, mental illness, suicide, substance abuse, mental illness, unhealthy coping techniques , disturbing portrayals of romantic relationships, toxic friendships.

Inside Nanterre School for Dance reside two best friends, Marine and Kate, who–among the other girls in their class–are competing for the one top spot dancing with the top male. Bright Burning Stars did an excellent job of capturing the cattiness and petty atmosphere that can reign in a competitive atmosphere like this. I don’t have experience with dance, but I went to school for opera where people are vying for lead roles in a show and believe me, when you have spent your life training for something and you know that you are prepared and that you have nailed your performance but then the next person goes on stage and has an advantage only because of a ‘favor’ she did or a judge? If it could mean the difference between performing on stage at sold out shows every night versus performing four times per month and teaching voice/dance lessons just to make ends meet….how far would you be willing to go to ensure you hit the top?

So that was all that was on my mind through most of the book. Everything hit close to home for me because I could really draw paralells to where I had been in the fine arts world, but really, it could work for any positions one is competing for. We all need drive (though, maybe not quite this much) to get to top. This book is told in dual perspectives so we do get to see both Marine’s and Kate’s thoughts as they go through all of this craziness. And I do mean crazy, but that’s what makes this book truly a page-turner I thought. I really feel this book was beautifully written. It has some beautiful descriptions of dancing, it can be brutal at times (trigger warnings: eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, abortion grief, self-harm, intentional drug use, body dysmorphia) but I was here for the big picture.