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Tiny Pretty Things #1
Tiny Pretty Things
Now a Netflix TV show!
Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars in this soapy, drama-packed novel featuring diverse characters who will do anything to be the prima at their elite ballet school.
From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Belles, Dhonielle Clayton, and the author of the highly anticipated Symptoms of a Heartbreak, Sona Charaipotra.
Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet-star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever.
When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.
Don’t miss the gossip, lies, and scandal that continues in Tiny Pretty Things’ gripping sequel, Shiny Broken Pieces!
Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars in this soapy, drama-packed novel featuring diverse characters who will do anything to be the prima at their elite ballet school.
From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Belles, Dhonielle Clayton, and the author of the highly anticipated Symptoms of a Heartbreak, Sona Charaipotra.
Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet-star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever.
When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.
Don’t miss the gossip, lies, and scandal that continues in Tiny Pretty Things’ gripping sequel, Shiny Broken Pieces!
438 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 2015
772 people are currently reading
34111 people want to read
About the author
Sona Charaipotra
13 books691 followersThe author of the YA doc dramedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak, SONA CHARAIPOTRA is not a doctor — much to her pediatrician parents’ chagrin. They were really hoping she’d grow up to take over their practice one day.
Instead, she became a writer, working first as a celebrity reporter at People and (the dearly departed) TeenPeople magazines, and more recently contributing to publications from the New York Times to TeenVogue. She was also the editor of the Barnes & Noble Teen blog. These days, she uses her Masters in screenwriting from NYU and her MFA in creative writing from the New School to poke plot holes in her favorite teen TV shows — for work of course. She’s the co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book packaging company with a decidedly diverse bent, and the co-author of the YA dance dramas Tiny Pretty Things and Shiny Broken Pieces (now a Netflix original series!), as well as the upcoming psychological thriller Rumor Game. Her follow-up to Symptoms will be the YA contemporary romp How Maya Got Fierce, which draws on her magazine world experience and is pitched as the Bold Type meets Younger. She’s a former We Need Diverse Books board member. Find her sharing pictures of her kids and her chai on Instagram @sonesone2, talking writing and books on Twitter @sona_c, or pinning gorgeous lenghas and her favorite Indian food on Pinterest.
Instead, she became a writer, working first as a celebrity reporter at People and (the dearly departed) TeenPeople magazines, and more recently contributing to publications from the New York Times to TeenVogue. She was also the editor of the Barnes & Noble Teen blog. These days, she uses her Masters in screenwriting from NYU and her MFA in creative writing from the New School to poke plot holes in her favorite teen TV shows — for work of course. She’s the co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book packaging company with a decidedly diverse bent, and the co-author of the YA dance dramas Tiny Pretty Things and Shiny Broken Pieces (now a Netflix original series!), as well as the upcoming psychological thriller Rumor Game. Her follow-up to Symptoms will be the YA contemporary romp How Maya Got Fierce, which draws on her magazine world experience and is pitched as the Bold Type meets Younger. She’s a former We Need Diverse Books board member. Find her sharing pictures of her kids and her chai on Instagram @sonesone2, talking writing and books on Twitter @sona_c, or pinning gorgeous lenghas and her favorite Indian food on Pinterest.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,722 reviews
July 30, 2018
"Ballet makes you all so sad. You never used to be like this."
i won this book at the bookriot live thingie by answering a question about thomas bernhard during the "ask the audience" portion of booknerd jeopardy. which is likely the first and last time thomas bernhard and Tiny Pretty Things will appear in a sentence together.
this book is a jumble of strengths and weaknesses, so it's a pretty solid middle-three stars for me.
in the strengths column, i thought it provided a fascinating look at the mean-girl flipside running underneath all the pretty pink froth of the ballet world. kind of like how monstrous dancers' feet are beneath those pretty shoes
all the sweat and jealousy, the racism and politics, the sexual favors and bitterness and competitiveness and eating disorders and pill-popping and stress twirling gracefully around in little pink tutus. i enjoyed the peek behind the curtains and knowing i dodged a bullet by not pursuing a career as a ballerina, instead spending my one and only ballet recital scowling and scratching my chest which was SO ITCHY from those sequins that it was all i could think about.
i appreciated the three different perspectives -
*bette is a perfect blonde "music box ballerina" following in her older sister's footsteps by any means necessary - clawing out eyes (figuratively) and manipulating her admirers into bullying the competition until they break (sometimes literally)
*gigi is new to the school and new to new york, bringing her friendly and laid-back california attitude and her african american skin coloring into this environment of bette-clones and providing a different kind of role model to young girls.
*june is half-korean, and all-starving - fading into the background; lonely, fatherless, overlooked; pushing herself past safe limits, quietly determined to be noticed and validated.
the book is mainly concerned with pressure - from family, from self, from very specific standards of beauty, and it's about how girls respond to this much pressure when they are isolated from their families and from the larger, non-dance world.
as for the weaknesses, they mostly just have to do with depth. the book is a very quick read - skimming from one episode to the next, without slowing down long enough to let the events sink in. everything feels rushed as romances begin and end with no development, pranks and bullying result in serious injuries and there are no repercussions, adults breeze in and out as obstacles or comforts, but contribute little else to the story, subplots go unresolved.
overall, i didn't feel like this was a self-contained book. there's not much in the way of resolution; it ends by introducing a new complication without wrapping up the previous ones. there's a second book coming out this summer, but i'm not certain that was a given before this book was released, so it's pretty bold to leave so many things up in the air without that guarantee. i will be reading the second book, because i kind of want some answer: huge discoveries are made, and nothing comes of them. major events occur, and we don't really know who's to blame. i don't mind not knowing who to trust while reading a book, i do have an expectation that i will know by the end, second book or no.
so, we'll see. the amount of detail about ballet is impressive and fans of dance or people who know this world intimately will no doubt love it, but while i liked it enough to want to find out some answers, i'm not gasping for it.
and although i don't have any pictures handy of the recital (and the scratching) itself, here are some other pictures of ballet-karen, because adorable
come to my blog!
i won this book at the bookriot live thingie by answering a question about thomas bernhard during the "ask the audience" portion of booknerd jeopardy. which is likely the first and last time thomas bernhard and Tiny Pretty Things will appear in a sentence together.
this book is a jumble of strengths and weaknesses, so it's a pretty solid middle-three stars for me.
in the strengths column, i thought it provided a fascinating look at the mean-girl flipside running underneath all the pretty pink froth of the ballet world. kind of like how monstrous dancers' feet are beneath those pretty shoes
all the sweat and jealousy, the racism and politics, the sexual favors and bitterness and competitiveness and eating disorders and pill-popping and stress twirling gracefully around in little pink tutus. i enjoyed the peek behind the curtains and knowing i dodged a bullet by not pursuing a career as a ballerina, instead spending my one and only ballet recital scowling and scratching my chest which was SO ITCHY from those sequins that it was all i could think about.
i appreciated the three different perspectives -
*bette is a perfect blonde "music box ballerina" following in her older sister's footsteps by any means necessary - clawing out eyes (figuratively) and manipulating her admirers into bullying the competition until they break (sometimes literally)
*gigi is new to the school and new to new york, bringing her friendly and laid-back california attitude and her african american skin coloring into this environment of bette-clones and providing a different kind of role model to young girls.
*june is half-korean, and all-starving - fading into the background; lonely, fatherless, overlooked; pushing herself past safe limits, quietly determined to be noticed and validated.
the book is mainly concerned with pressure - from family, from self, from very specific standards of beauty, and it's about how girls respond to this much pressure when they are isolated from their families and from the larger, non-dance world.
as for the weaknesses, they mostly just have to do with depth. the book is a very quick read - skimming from one episode to the next, without slowing down long enough to let the events sink in. everything feels rushed as romances begin and end with no development, pranks and bullying result in serious injuries and there are no repercussions, adults breeze in and out as obstacles or comforts, but contribute little else to the story, subplots go unresolved.
overall, i didn't feel like this was a self-contained book. there's not much in the way of resolution; it ends by introducing a new complication without wrapping up the previous ones. there's a second book coming out this summer, but i'm not certain that was a given before this book was released, so it's pretty bold to leave so many things up in the air without that guarantee. i will be reading the second book, because i kind of want some answer: huge discoveries are made, and nothing comes of them. major events occur, and we don't really know who's to blame. i don't mind not knowing who to trust while reading a book, i do have an expectation that i will know by the end, second book or no.
so, we'll see. the amount of detail about ballet is impressive and fans of dance or people who know this world intimately will no doubt love it, but while i liked it enough to want to find out some answers, i'm not gasping for it.
and although i don't have any pictures handy of the recital (and the scratching) itself, here are some other pictures of ballet-karen, because adorable
come to my blog!
December 28, 2016
4.5 Stars!
May 15, 2018
this book did not deserve to be DNFed, probably.
I also officially made A Discovery. You know what that discovery is? I love moral ambiguity and I also hate petty drama. You know what I like? Feuds of two characters on opposing sides of a moral quandry in which both win and lose. You know what I definitely do not like and would like to never see again in my reading? Pettiness between the Mean Girl and the Slightly Less Mean Girl.
You know what creates some weird connotations? The fact that both queer characters in this book are villains. You know what’s just shitty? Giving every villain a point of view except the queer girl and queer guy villain. You know what’s shittier? Villainizing a queer guy for having a crush on some random dude a girl is dating, and the narrative treating his crush as gross. You know what’s just as shitty as that? Giving your queer girl character the motive “fear of coming out motivates her to bully other girl for years.”
Yeah. Anyway. Those are my thoughts. I would probably have finished this if not for figuring out one of these authors killed off her only sapphic character in another novel, but I honestly am just... tired and feel really uncomfortable with that. yeah.
current mood:
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I also officially made A Discovery. You know what that discovery is? I love moral ambiguity and I also hate petty drama. You know what I like? Feuds of two characters on opposing sides of a moral quandry in which both win and lose. You know what I definitely do not like and would like to never see again in my reading? Pettiness between the Mean Girl and the Slightly Less Mean Girl.
You know what creates some weird connotations? The fact that both queer characters in this book are villains. You know what’s just shitty? Giving every villain a point of view except the queer girl and queer guy villain. You know what’s shittier? Villainizing a queer guy for having a crush on some random dude a girl is dating, and the narrative treating his crush as gross. You know what’s just as shitty as that? Giving your queer girl character the motive “fear of coming out motivates her to bully other girl for years.”
Yeah. Anyway. Those are my thoughts. I would probably have finished this if not for figuring out one of these authors killed off her only sapphic character in another novel, but I honestly am just... tired and feel really uncomfortable with that. yeah.
current mood:
Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube
February 7, 2017
3.5/5 stars
I feel like I'm so torn about this book. On the one hand, the story is so interesting and turns very mysterious. The cast is incredibly diverse and the book deals with a lot of really big issues. The unreliable narrators made for an added interesting element to the story. But books about girl drama and girls being awful to each other just rubs me the wrong way always. I've never been a part of the dance community so I don't know exactly how competitive it is, but the drama just felt like way too much at times and people were so terrible. Just when I thought they couldn't be more terrible, they stepped it up a notch.
I'll probably still read the next book because I have theories and I do want to know what happens, but it may take me longer to get to it because I don't think I can handle it right now. Too much DRAMA.
I feel like I'm so torn about this book. On the one hand, the story is so interesting and turns very mysterious. The cast is incredibly diverse and the book deals with a lot of really big issues. The unreliable narrators made for an added interesting element to the story. But books about girl drama and girls being awful to each other just rubs me the wrong way always. I've never been a part of the dance community so I don't know exactly how competitive it is, but the drama just felt like way too much at times and people were so terrible. Just when I thought they couldn't be more terrible, they stepped it up a notch.
I'll probably still read the next book because I have theories and I do want to know what happens, but it may take me longer to get to it because I don't think I can handle it right now. Too much DRAMA.
November 8, 2017
I'm still not over this, this is literally one of my favourite reads so far this year! 4.5 Stars because of how much I loved this.
"Ballet is supposed to be beautiful. You're making it ugly." - Mr. K
Trigger Warning, this review will talk about disorders and addiction.
Honestly, I have no idea why I enjoyed this book so much, but I really really did. So we get this story is three different peoples points of view. We have Bette, Gigi and June they are all so different from one another. All three are part of a Ballet school competing to become the soloist for the dances produced. Competition is tough, and some people will stop at nothing to get there. From the very start we see a talented girl called Cassie dealing with her pressures and performing a dance, what we see after that is how others change because of what's happened, or how people choose to ignore their involvement.
My character breakdown...
First off we have Bette she's supposed to be Queen B and rules the ballet world. However what we see is a complete utter bitch and a bully. That is the best way to describe her. However we kind of see why she is like she is. There's a lot of pressure on Bette to be as good as Adele, her mother comes across as a complete control freak. She's expected to be on top and be good all the time we see Bette have issues with addiction throughout this book. As much as I genuinely disliked her character, there were times I did feel sorry for her. For example - "It's one of the things I'm most afraid of. That I will be exactly like Adele, or that I won't be enough like Adele." You see her be more and more of her sisters shadow, and her mother and teachers expect her to be as good as Adele if not better. It's too much pressure for one person. Due to this you see how she reacts and what she does to "regain her control". You see the breakdown of many relationships for Bette, and when she did try to be a good friend it completely back fired and did more damage than good. I think out of everyone in this book I'm really really looking forward to seeing how she develops in the next book!
Gigi the golden star the new girl in town who everybody wants to know. Throughout the book, you see that Gigi is a genuinely nice person who just wants to do things that make her happy, and her love of dance is evidently clear. I think Gigi's back story was really well executed and you wanted to know what her "issues" are. As Gigi is just such a lovely character, your instincts are just to swaddle her in a blanket and look out for her. Throughout the book I wanted to go seriously mama bear on a lot of characters to protect her. What I'm mostly looking forward to in the next book is what's next for her?
Finally we have June. Honestly she's such a difficult character and I don't really know where to begin. Firstly she doesn't really like socialising with other people even though personally I believe that she craves the love of others. It's really hard hitting in this, we see June battle her demons in relation to eating disorders, you can see how ill she is and how obsessive she becomes. She doesn't even have a period anymore, that's such a health concern, not only that but she has ways in which to get past her weigh in or "cheat the system". Once again, June has a lot going on in her life, she wants to please her mother, she's in love with someone who's dating someone she doesn't get on with, she has a lot of self doubt throughout. What I can't understand is that she makes it out as though she hates Gigi, but they have some really nice moments together. I'm really looking forward to how she develops and I hope we see her conquer her eating disorder.
We also get a glimpse of some other characters that are: Alec, Henri, Will, Eleanor, Liz and Sei-Jin these are all someone a bit different and adds something to the story! I don't want to say a lot about Alec just in case of spoilers. I have no idea what to think of Henri I mean, in my notes I said that he seemed like a nice guy BUT he is bat shit crazy! I'm a bit unsure about Will like is it all an act, or is he a genuinely nice person? Eleanor is a bit of a bitch, she's pretty sneaky. Finally Liz, my heart literally broke for her. I cannot. Sei-Jin is just another awful character, liar and manipulator.
What did I like?
- I have honestly never read anything like this before, it had me gripped from the start, I didn't want it to end.
- The different representations were dealt with really well, you see Gigi and June deal with different issues. We see forms of racism towards Gigi and the pressures on June because she doesn't know Korean very well.
- It has to be said, how supportive Gigi is towards other people, the girl get a lot of shit from many characters and she still shows love and compassion to others.
- This may sound out, but I genuinely liked seeing this story from three different peoples points of views, they're completely opposite from each other and it was really interesting to see how they all dealt with hurdles they met.
- This got very very dark.
What I didn't like?
- One of my main issues is that they didn't really handle the bullying situation very well. You can see how traumatised Gigi becomes over time, when it comes to it and she speaks out, they don't look into the bullying, rather they look into an awful rumour spread by bitch people.
- Still undecided if I liked the ending, I am desperate to read more, and I want to know who is messing with everyone! I have a sneaky suspicion but I'm probably wrong.
Final thoughts are that I'm itching literally itching to read Shiny Broken Pieces, I have to wait however long for it to arrive and I need to know things now. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys these type of books, ALL OF THE DRAMA.
THE AMAZON WAIT IS REAL.
To harass means to subject to aggressive pressure or intimidation or to make repeated small-scale attacks on an enemy.
Tiny Pretty Thing - 4.5 Stars
Shiny Broken Pieces/a> - 4.5 Stars
"Ballet is supposed to be beautiful. You're making it ugly." - Mr. K
Trigger Warning, this review will talk about disorders and addiction.
Honestly, I have no idea why I enjoyed this book so much, but I really really did. So we get this story is three different peoples points of view. We have Bette, Gigi and June they are all so different from one another. All three are part of a Ballet school competing to become the soloist for the dances produced. Competition is tough, and some people will stop at nothing to get there. From the very start we see a talented girl called Cassie dealing with her pressures and performing a dance, what we see after that is how others change because of what's happened, or how people choose to ignore their involvement.
My character breakdown...
First off we have Bette she's supposed to be Queen B and rules the ballet world. However what we see is a complete utter bitch and a bully. That is the best way to describe her. However we kind of see why she is like she is. There's a lot of pressure on Bette to be as good as Adele, her mother comes across as a complete control freak. She's expected to be on top and be good all the time we see Bette have issues with addiction throughout this book. As much as I genuinely disliked her character, there were times I did feel sorry for her. For example - "It's one of the things I'm most afraid of. That I will be exactly like Adele, or that I won't be enough like Adele." You see her be more and more of her sisters shadow, and her mother and teachers expect her to be as good as Adele if not better. It's too much pressure for one person. Due to this you see how she reacts and what she does to "regain her control". You see the breakdown of many relationships for Bette, and when she did try to be a good friend it completely back fired and did more damage than good. I think out of everyone in this book I'm really really looking forward to seeing how she develops in the next book!
Gigi the golden star the new girl in town who everybody wants to know. Throughout the book, you see that Gigi is a genuinely nice person who just wants to do things that make her happy, and her love of dance is evidently clear. I think Gigi's back story was really well executed and you wanted to know what her "issues" are. As Gigi is just such a lovely character, your instincts are just to swaddle her in a blanket and look out for her. Throughout the book I wanted to go seriously mama bear on a lot of characters to protect her. What I'm mostly looking forward to in the next book is what's next for her?
Finally we have June. Honestly she's such a difficult character and I don't really know where to begin. Firstly she doesn't really like socialising with other people even though personally I believe that she craves the love of others. It's really hard hitting in this, we see June battle her demons in relation to eating disorders, you can see how ill she is and how obsessive she becomes. She doesn't even have a period anymore, that's such a health concern, not only that but she has ways in which to get past her weigh in or "cheat the system". Once again, June has a lot going on in her life, she wants to please her mother, she's in love with someone who's dating someone she doesn't get on with, she has a lot of self doubt throughout. What I can't understand is that she makes it out as though she hates Gigi, but they have some really nice moments together. I'm really looking forward to how she develops and I hope we see her conquer her eating disorder.
We also get a glimpse of some other characters that are: Alec, Henri, Will, Eleanor, Liz and Sei-Jin these are all someone a bit different and adds something to the story! I don't want to say a lot about Alec just in case of spoilers. I have no idea what to think of Henri I mean, in my notes I said that he seemed like a nice guy BUT he is bat shit crazy! I'm a bit unsure about Will like is it all an act, or is he a genuinely nice person? Eleanor is a bit of a bitch, she's pretty sneaky. Finally Liz, my heart literally broke for her. I cannot. Sei-Jin is just another awful character, liar and manipulator.
What did I like?
- I have honestly never read anything like this before, it had me gripped from the start, I didn't want it to end.
- The different representations were dealt with really well, you see Gigi and June deal with different issues. We see forms of racism towards Gigi and the pressures on June because she doesn't know Korean very well.
- It has to be said, how supportive Gigi is towards other people, the girl get a lot of shit from many characters and she still shows love and compassion to others.
- This may sound out, but I genuinely liked seeing this story from three different peoples points of views, they're completely opposite from each other and it was really interesting to see how they all dealt with hurdles they met.
- This got very very dark.
What I didn't like?
- One of my main issues is that they didn't really handle the bullying situation very well. You can see how traumatised Gigi becomes over time, when it comes to it and she speaks out, they don't look into the bullying, rather they look into an awful rumour spread by bitch people.
- Still undecided if I liked the ending, I am desperate to read more, and I want to know who is messing with everyone! I have a sneaky suspicion but I'm probably wrong.
Final thoughts are that I'm itching literally itching to read Shiny Broken Pieces, I have to wait however long for it to arrive and I need to know things now. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys these type of books, ALL OF THE DRAMA.
THE AMAZON WAIT IS REAL.
To harass means to subject to aggressive pressure or intimidation or to make repeated small-scale attacks on an enemy.
Tiny Pretty Thing - 4.5 Stars
Shiny Broken Pieces/a> - 4.5 Stars
Read
May 10, 2017Setting this aside around 50 pages or so. I liked the descriptions of dance, and the fact that the girls represent a variety of different ethnic backgrounds--some of them are even spot-on in describing subtle cultural and parental pressures.
But I dunno, the backstabby thing starts right off the bat and is in every chapter, and it's hard to get a handle on that or even care when you haven't gotten to know anyone yet, and when there are so many in this cast of characters--and when the backstabbing stands out more than anything else.
Maybe I'll come back to this if the reviews seem promising? We'll see.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher.
But I dunno, the backstabby thing starts right off the bat and is in every chapter, and it's hard to get a handle on that or even care when you haven't gotten to know anyone yet, and when there are so many in this cast of characters--and when the backstabbing stands out more than anything else.
Maybe I'll come back to this if the reviews seem promising? We'll see.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher.
May 27, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
“The Sugar Plum Fairy has farthest to fall.”
Wow! This book was certainly pretty cut-throat! And there was so much back-stabbing going on!
I liked the characters in this book, although they all seemed to do crazy things at times, and to take massive risks to get what they wanted. Bette was blood-thirsty, Gigi ignored her heart condition, and June flirted with anorexia, and all three of them wanted to be the lead in every ballet they performed.
“The black girl. The new girl. She’s no Sugar-Plum Fairy. Her feet are bad. Her legs are too muscular. Her face won’t look right on stage. It should have been Bette.”
The storyline in this followed the girls as they danced at their ballet school and battled for the leading role in the ballets, we had lots of cruel tricks, which quickly escalated, dangerous threats, and even some pretty serious injuries all in the name of knocking Gigi off her top-spot, and boy were these girls serious about their ballet!
“Drop her,” I’d whispered quickly, before I could lose my nerve. “Just once. And not too hard. Just enough.”
His nose crinkled just enough so that I knew he was judging me.
“Injuries change cast lists,”
There was a bit of romance in this, although it was more the battling for the boys that interested me. These girls did not want to share, and they didn’t want to let go of a boy once they had claimed him, even if he didn’t want them anymore!
“We kiss for so long my lips go numb. So long I forget to wonder whether he is Bette’s or mine or just his own person.”
The ending to this left us with several cliff-hangers, I really need to read the second book to find out what happens!
7.5 out of 10
“The Sugar Plum Fairy has farthest to fall.”
Wow! This book was certainly pretty cut-throat! And there was so much back-stabbing going on!
I liked the characters in this book, although they all seemed to do crazy things at times, and to take massive risks to get what they wanted. Bette was blood-thirsty, Gigi ignored her heart condition, and June flirted with anorexia, and all three of them wanted to be the lead in every ballet they performed.
“The black girl. The new girl. She’s no Sugar-Plum Fairy. Her feet are bad. Her legs are too muscular. Her face won’t look right on stage. It should have been Bette.”
The storyline in this followed the girls as they danced at their ballet school and battled for the leading role in the ballets, we had lots of cruel tricks, which quickly escalated, dangerous threats, and even some pretty serious injuries all in the name of knocking Gigi off her top-spot, and boy were these girls serious about their ballet!
“Drop her,” I’d whispered quickly, before I could lose my nerve. “Just once. And not too hard. Just enough.”
His nose crinkled just enough so that I knew he was judging me.
“Injuries change cast lists,”
There was a bit of romance in this, although it was more the battling for the boys that interested me. These girls did not want to share, and they didn’t want to let go of a boy once they had claimed him, even if he didn’t want them anymore!
“We kiss for so long my lips go numb. So long I forget to wonder whether he is Bette’s or mine or just his own person.”
The ending to this left us with several cliff-hangers, I really need to read the second book to find out what happens!
7.5 out of 10
August 14, 2015
See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
It has been a long time since I've read a book featuring ballet so the synopsis for this book attracted me instantly. Unfortunately, this one turned out to not be my cup of tea.
Why I didn't like Tiny Pretty Things:
- The multiple perspectives. It's always a hard task to get multiple POVS pat down, and while I had no trouble distinguishing the voices of the three main characters, I felt no emotional attachment towards any of them. Charaipotra and Clayton's novel follows three girls; Gigi, June and Bette who are all vying to be the prima ballerina at their elite ballet school. I loved the diversity that the authors brought to the table (Gigi is African-American and June is Korean, as well as some LGBTQ side characters) but it just became overwhelming as it was too hard to keep up with all of the drama in each of the girls' lives.
- Zero in terms of character development. Another reason why I failed to click with any of the characters was because they were all just so unlikeable. I think this was more of a "it's me, not you" situation but they all just seemed lacking in depth. I was hoping that the girls would develop and grow in terms of complexity as the story went by but nope, that clearly just wasn't happening.
- It was too back-stabby and "drama drama" for me. I do love a good revenge/drama read. Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, just for example. However, this one didn't seem to really have anything else in terms of plot asides from the constant competitiveness of who shall be the next prima ballerina and all the back-stabbing and mean girl drama. I feel like it was too intense, I soon found myself just skimming sections and sections.
- The relationships made my head hurt. Yes, this is romance in here but it fell completely flat, and I'm sure many reviewers have already pointed this out. Bette and Alec are known as the 'power couple', but when Gigi replaces Bette by getting the lead role in The Nutcracker, it's like Alec is suddenly all interested in Gigi and their romance felt rushed and well, shallow. The romance felt like a competition too, so it really just lost all of it's meaning.
Why you might like Tiny Pretty Things:
- If you're into books featuring ballet. Yes, there is ballet. If you didn't know already...
- If you like drama, backstabbing and "mean girls".
In all, I can't say that I would recommend this one, but if you're into ballet, like reading about it, enjoy drama (as in, LOTS of it), maybe you'll enjoy this one more than I did.
It has been a long time since I've read a book featuring ballet so the synopsis for this book attracted me instantly. Unfortunately, this one turned out to not be my cup of tea.
Why I didn't like Tiny Pretty Things:
- The multiple perspectives. It's always a hard task to get multiple POVS pat down, and while I had no trouble distinguishing the voices of the three main characters, I felt no emotional attachment towards any of them. Charaipotra and Clayton's novel follows three girls; Gigi, June and Bette who are all vying to be the prima ballerina at their elite ballet school. I loved the diversity that the authors brought to the table (Gigi is African-American and June is Korean, as well as some LGBTQ side characters) but it just became overwhelming as it was too hard to keep up with all of the drama in each of the girls' lives.
- Zero in terms of character development. Another reason why I failed to click with any of the characters was because they were all just so unlikeable. I think this was more of a "it's me, not you" situation but they all just seemed lacking in depth. I was hoping that the girls would develop and grow in terms of complexity as the story went by but nope, that clearly just wasn't happening.
- It was too back-stabby and "drama drama" for me. I do love a good revenge/drama read. Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, just for example. However, this one didn't seem to really have anything else in terms of plot asides from the constant competitiveness of who shall be the next prima ballerina and all the back-stabbing and mean girl drama. I feel like it was too intense, I soon found myself just skimming sections and sections.
- The relationships made my head hurt. Yes, this is romance in here but it fell completely flat, and I'm sure many reviewers have already pointed this out. Bette and Alec are known as the 'power couple', but when Gigi replaces Bette by getting the lead role in The Nutcracker, it's like Alec is suddenly all interested in Gigi and their romance felt rushed and well, shallow. The romance felt like a competition too, so it really just lost all of it's meaning.
Why you might like Tiny Pretty Things:
- If you're into books featuring ballet. Yes, there is ballet. If you didn't know already...
- If you like drama, backstabbing and "mean girls".
In all, I can't say that I would recommend this one, but if you're into ballet, like reading about it, enjoy drama (as in, LOTS of it), maybe you'll enjoy this one more than I did.
~Thanks HarperCollins Australia for sending me this copy!~
March 19, 2021
Look, this was the shit for me. It was so addicting and had me gripped until the last page. I loved the drama, the characters, and the plot. There was so much backstabbing and secrets revealed that I wanted to grab some popcorn and read this novel like it was a telenovela.
There were some characters in this book that I didn't like at all, but then I get a glimpse of who they really are "behind the mask". I loved how this concept seemed so simple, yet these authors could warp it into something so addicting and intriguing. Everyone in this book did something shady, and I loved figuring out what it was. There was actually a love triangle in this book, but I'm not mad at it.
There was some type of mystery going on in this novel because we're trying to figure out who keeps doing all these things to Gigi. At first, I thought it was one person who did it, but then the authors flipped the script and made me think it was someone else. And then, they shake the room and remind me that the first person I suspected is still pretty sus, and then I lost it. Now with the technical aspects of this novel, they were all done well.
I enjoyed how this novel was written. I liked that the story was told in different points of views because it at least helped me put the puzzle pieces together. And this story was just written in such a suspenseful way. I can't lie, I felt a little shiver in my bones from the writing because it just put things into a thrilling perspective that I hadn't seen before.
And y'all already know that the plot was on point. It shouldn't even be a surprise at this point. As I said before, the plot is based off of a basic premise, but it goes deeper and surprises you. The plot just thickens throughout the whole book, and I was genuinely scared towards the end because I couldn't see how it was going to end. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just leave it at that.
Overall, this book is wonderful. I loved how suspenseful and thrilling this was, and it really kept me on my toes, so I was always guessing what would happen next. The characters are very complex, and I enjoyed that. I need to read this again so I can go in dept with the characters because they're a hot mess express, but they're my hot mess express. The plot was on point. The writing was on point. Everything was on point, and I loved it.
There were some characters in this book that I didn't like at all, but then I get a glimpse of who they really are "behind the mask". I loved how this concept seemed so simple, yet these authors could warp it into something so addicting and intriguing. Everyone in this book did something shady, and I loved figuring out what it was. There was actually a love triangle in this book, but I'm not mad at it.
There was some type of mystery going on in this novel because we're trying to figure out who keeps doing all these things to Gigi. At first, I thought it was one person who did it, but then the authors flipped the script and made me think it was someone else. And then, they shake the room and remind me that the first person I suspected is still pretty sus, and then I lost it. Now with the technical aspects of this novel, they were all done well.
I enjoyed how this novel was written. I liked that the story was told in different points of views because it at least helped me put the puzzle pieces together. And this story was just written in such a suspenseful way. I can't lie, I felt a little shiver in my bones from the writing because it just put things into a thrilling perspective that I hadn't seen before.
And y'all already know that the plot was on point. It shouldn't even be a surprise at this point. As I said before, the plot is based off of a basic premise, but it goes deeper and surprises you. The plot just thickens throughout the whole book, and I was genuinely scared towards the end because I couldn't see how it was going to end. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just leave it at that.
Overall, this book is wonderful. I loved how suspenseful and thrilling this was, and it really kept me on my toes, so I was always guessing what would happen next. The characters are very complex, and I enjoyed that. I need to read this again so I can go in dept with the characters because they're a hot mess express, but they're my hot mess express. The plot was on point. The writing was on point. Everything was on point, and I loved it.
July 15, 2016
Second reread: July 15, 2016
I finished rereading Tiny Pretty Things just in time to start the sequel. It's safe to say, I love it so much better. If you haven't pick up this book yet, who are you. Review to come.
Tiny Pretty Thing is not a story about female friendship, it is the contradictory. This is for all the girls who tried, but got rejected, girls who felt alienated and abused by their own sex. It’s miserable, it’s being caught in a tornado of anger and sadness. The story didn’t glamorized that, and that’s pretty damn revolutionary on its own.
Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton redefines the term unlikable heroines.
It is a delightful read that will keep you guessing at the edge of your seat. Our three main characters will hook you up with their unpredictable, but compelling narrative. I love how the authors established the struggles of teenage girls slash ballerinas. The cutthroat competition, viciousness, body image, racism, and white privilege were all tackled impeccably.
I'm kinda scared to read the sequel.
I finished rereading Tiny Pretty Things just in time to start the sequel. It's safe to say, I love it so much better. If you haven't pick up this book yet, who are you. Review to come.
Tiny Pretty Thing is not a story about female friendship, it is the contradictory. This is for all the girls who tried, but got rejected, girls who felt alienated and abused by their own sex. It’s miserable, it’s being caught in a tornado of anger and sadness. The story didn’t glamorized that, and that’s pretty damn revolutionary on its own.
Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton redefines the term unlikable heroines.
It is a delightful read that will keep you guessing at the edge of your seat. Our three main characters will hook you up with their unpredictable, but compelling narrative. I love how the authors established the struggles of teenage girls slash ballerinas. The cutthroat competition, viciousness, body image, racism, and white privilege were all tackled impeccably.
I'm kinda scared to read the sequel.
Read
September 3, 2017This was an entertaining story about a bunch of competitive/mean girl/borderline homicidal ballerinas. Think Black Swan meets Gossip Girls. These girls are obsessed with a) getting the best part in the latest ballet, b) making sure their competitors don't get the best part in the latest ballet and c) their -- and each other's -- appearances. Not sure I've ever read a book where characters not in love with/in lust with each other spent so much time talking and thinking about how the other characters looked.
Was not expecting the cliffie, but I guess this is #1 in a duology. Luckily I can move right on to the second book before I forget anything.
Read more of my reviews on YA Romantics or follow me on Bloglovin
Was not expecting the cliffie, but I guess this is #1 in a duology. Luckily I can move right on to the second book before I forget anything.
Read more of my reviews on YA Romantics or follow me on Bloglovin
April 26, 2018
Everyone loves guilty pleasure reading and Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton is just that. A mix of Center State & Pretty Little Liars, Tiny Pretty Things is pure, unadulterated entertainment.
The premise is simple: the story follows three ballet students at the elite, cutthroat American Ballet Company in NYC. As with similar ballet school dramas, it’s trope-heavy. There’s the bulimic (June), the Regina George in pointe shoes (Bette), and the good girl (Gigi). The narrative shifts between the three points of view as the dancers work toward becoming professional prima ballerinas. Naturally catfights, sabotage, secrets and romance abound.
As with most successful guilty pleasures, there’s not much to evaluate or comment on. The writing ain’t winning a Booker Prize anytime soon. But it doesn’t need to. This is beach reading, not a treatise on human nature.
Characters are refreshingly diverse and generally layered. And then there’s Gigi. Oh….Gigi. I despise that girl with an abiding passion usually reserved for Kardashians. Or Anne Hathaway. Gigi is a sugary-sweet Mary Sue meant to elicit sympathy, but instead is just…. irritating. Gigi is our moral compass that never makes a mistake. Never does anything wrong. Is just full of oh-golly-gee plucky determination. Melanie Wilkes to Bette’s Scarlett O’Hara. But lemme just say, there’s a *reason* Scarlett O’Hara is Gone with the Wind’s protagonist. THE. GOOD. GIRL. SUCKS. She’s boring. Yes, Gigi’s nice. But nice does not an interesting character make. The book tries to make Gigi compelling by giving her a secret heart condition, but that simply enhances her damsel-in-distress role.
Bette and June, despite questionable morality, are fascinating to watch. Their individual journeys are made meaningful BECAUSE of their flaws. They battle internal struggles, rather than Gigi’s external issues. And those battles provide the plot’s trajectory. Bette and June are character-driven. Gigi is plot-driven. She has no growth or movement. She’s just...flat.
In summary: Looking for a light, soapy beach read? This book is for you. Just don’t expect any genuine depth.
The premise is simple: the story follows three ballet students at the elite, cutthroat American Ballet Company in NYC. As with similar ballet school dramas, it’s trope-heavy. There’s the bulimic (June), the Regina George in pointe shoes (Bette), and the good girl (Gigi). The narrative shifts between the three points of view as the dancers work toward becoming professional prima ballerinas. Naturally catfights, sabotage, secrets and romance abound.
As with most successful guilty pleasures, there’s not much to evaluate or comment on. The writing ain’t winning a Booker Prize anytime soon. But it doesn’t need to. This is beach reading, not a treatise on human nature.
Characters are refreshingly diverse and generally layered. And then there’s Gigi. Oh….Gigi. I despise that girl with an abiding passion usually reserved for Kardashians. Or Anne Hathaway. Gigi is a sugary-sweet Mary Sue meant to elicit sympathy, but instead is just…. irritating. Gigi is our moral compass that never makes a mistake. Never does anything wrong. Is just full of oh-golly-gee plucky determination. Melanie Wilkes to Bette’s Scarlett O’Hara. But lemme just say, there’s a *reason* Scarlett O’Hara is Gone with the Wind’s protagonist. THE. GOOD. GIRL. SUCKS. She’s boring. Yes, Gigi’s nice. But nice does not an interesting character make. The book tries to make Gigi compelling by giving her a secret heart condition, but that simply enhances her damsel-in-distress role.
Bette and June, despite questionable morality, are fascinating to watch. Their individual journeys are made meaningful BECAUSE of their flaws. They battle internal struggles, rather than Gigi’s external issues. And those battles provide the plot’s trajectory. Bette and June are character-driven. Gigi is plot-driven. She has no growth or movement. She’s just...flat.
In summary: Looking for a light, soapy beach read? This book is for you. Just don’t expect any genuine depth.
December 9, 2020
Совсем скоро на Нетфликсе выходит новый сериал «про балет», но я не зря взяла про балет в кавычки и, в общем, могу сэкономить вам много часов жизни, прочитав за вас литературный прообраз.
Итак, Школа американского балета в Нью-Йорке. Ученики готовятся к зимнему показу «Щелкунчика».
Главные действующие лица:
ДЖИДЖИ,
она же Жизель,
единственная чернокожая танцовщица в школе. Жизель занималась в кружке в Калифорнии и, приехав в НЙ, сразу заполучила роль Sugar Plum Fairy (главная роль в американском Щелкунчике), потому что она, видите ли, luminous.
Джиджи милейший нежный котик. У нее лучшие подъемы и арабески. И она единственная из всех учеников здоровается с вахтером! НО еще у нее ужасный ПОРОК СЕРДЦА, и мама постоянно говорит ей, доченька, не перетрудись, береги себя, вот тебе пульсометр. Джиджи отважно засовывает пульсометр в дальний ящик стола и по ночам танцует в зале в подвале. That’s how dedicated she is!
БЕТ,
белобрысая сучка, похожая на балерину из музыкальной шкатулки. До Джиджи все ведущие роли (как мы узнаем чуть позже, нынешние 16летние дети в прошлом показывали и Дон Кихота, и ЛО, и вот разве что до Раймонды не добрались). Старшая сестра Бет — солистка АБТ и танцует ВОСЕМЬ спектаклей в сезоне, где у нее главная роль! ВОСЕМЬ! Бет об этом только мечтать. Бет мстительная, гадкая сволочь; носит на шее кулон с колесами, которые помогают ей классно танцевать, и держит всех учеников школы у себя под каблуком.
АЛЕК,
белобрысый прекрасный принц, soon-to-be-ex бойфренд Бет. Папа Алека — председатель попечительского совета школы. Алек красивый, добрый, делает из оригами цветочки, как научила его японская няня. Не понятно, какого хрена от потратил лучшие годы жизи на Бет, но с появлением Джиджи он осознал наконец свою ошибку и предложил Бет остаться друзьями (сделав это на сцене театра).
ДЖУН,
корейская сучка, которую мама-перфекционистка грозится забрать из школы, если та не получит нормальные роли вместо дублерши Sugar Plum. Джун не знает своего отца; известно только, что из-за внезапно беременности ее подающая надежды мама вынуждена была бросить балет, а папаша сказал — я дам денег, а видеть вас обеих не желаю. Есть подозрение, что ее отец — блондин.
Прочие:
УИЛЛ, лучший друг Бет и Алека, вероятно, гей и завистник.
АНРИ, мальчик из школы Опера де Пари, тоже завистник, еще и по-английски фигово говорит.
ЛИЗ, анорексичка.
ЭЛИНОР, добрая душа с булимией.
ЕЩЕ ОДНА корейская сучка.
КЭССИ, бывшая лучшая балерина школы, которую в прошлом сезоне так удачно уронили на генеральной репетиции, что она сломала ногу и отправилась в рихаб с нервным срывом.
РУССКИЙ директор школы, который пристает к воспитанницам и (по мнению одной из чтиц аудиокниги) коверкает английские слова.
МНОГО АМБИЦИОЗНЫХ РОДИТЕЛЕЙ.
***
Я даже не буду говорить про балетные нелепости этой книжки (да-да, стекло в пуантах есть, не волнуйтесь), просто скажу, что это самый гормональных из янг-эдалтов, которые я прочла за последнее время. Этакая «Школа в Ласковой Долине», умноженная на десять и присыпанная балетом. Более того, одной книжкой авторицы не ограничились! Поэтому если душа требует ЛЮБОВЬ И КРОВЬ И ЩЕЛКУНЧИКА, читайте или смотрите смело, точно не разочаруетесь.
Итак, Школа американского балета в Нью-Йорке. Ученики готовятся к зимнему показу «Щелкунчика».
Главные действующие лица:
ДЖИДЖИ,
она же Жизель,
единственная чернокожая танцовщица в школе. Жизель занималась в кружке в Калифорнии и, приехав в НЙ, сразу заполучила роль Sugar Plum Fairy (главная роль в американском Щелкунчике), потому что она, видите ли, luminous.
Джиджи милейший нежный котик. У нее лучшие подъемы и арабески. И она единственная из всех учеников здоровается с вахтером! НО еще у нее ужасный ПОРОК СЕРДЦА, и мама постоянно говорит ей, доченька, не перетрудись, береги себя, вот тебе пульсометр. Джиджи отважно засовывает пульсометр в дальний ящик стола и по ночам танцует в зале в подвале. That’s how dedicated she is!
БЕТ,
белобрысая сучка, похожая на балерину из музыкальной шкатулки. До Джиджи все ведущие роли (как мы узнаем чуть позже, нынешние 16летние дети в прошлом показывали и Дон Кихота, и ЛО, и вот разве что до Раймонды не добрались). Старшая сестра Бет — солистка АБТ и танцует ВОСЕМЬ спектаклей в сезоне, где у нее главная роль! ВОСЕМЬ! Бет об этом только мечтать. Бет мстительная, гадкая сволочь; носит на шее кулон с колесами, которые помогают ей классно танцевать, и держит всех учеников школы у себя под каблуком.
АЛЕК,
белобрысый прекрасный принц, soon-to-be-ex бойфренд Бет. Папа Алека — председатель попечительского совета школы. Алек красивый, добрый, делает из оригами цветочки, как научила его японская няня. Не понятно, какого хрена от потратил лучшие годы жизи на Бет, но с появлением Джиджи он осознал наконец свою ошибку и предложил Бет остаться друзьями (сделав это на сцене театра).
ДЖУН,
корейская сучка, которую мама-перфекционистка грозится забрать из школы, если та не получит нормальные роли вместо дублерши Sugar Plum. Джун не знает своего отца; известно только, что из-за внезапно беременности ее подающая надежды мама вынуждена была бросить балет, а папаша сказал — я дам денег, а видеть вас обеих не желаю. Есть подозрение, что ее отец — блондин.
Прочие:
УИЛЛ, лучший друг Бет и Алека, вероятно, гей и завистник.
АНРИ, мальчик из школы Опера де Пари, тоже завистник, еще и по-английски фигово говорит.
ЛИЗ, анорексичка.
ЭЛИНОР, добрая душа с булимией.
ЕЩЕ ОДНА корейская сучка.
КЭССИ, бывшая лучшая балерина школы, которую в прошлом сезоне так удачно уронили на генеральной репетиции, что она сломала ногу и отправилась в рихаб с нервным срывом.
РУССКИЙ директор школы, который пристает к воспитанницам и (по мнению одной из чтиц аудиокниги) коверкает английские слова.
МНОГО АМБИЦИОЗНЫХ РОДИТЕЛЕЙ.
***
Я даже не буду говорить про балетные нелепости этой книжки (да-да, стекло в пуантах есть, не волнуйтесь), просто скажу, что это самый гормональных из янг-эдалтов, которые я прочла за последнее время. Этакая «Школа в Ласковой Долине», умноженная на десять и присыпанная балетом. Более того, одной книжкой авторицы не ограничились! Поэтому если душа требует ЛЮБОВЬ И КРОВЬ И ЩЕЛКУНЧИКА, читайте или смотрите смело, точно не разочаруетесь.
January 2, 2021
This is the first instalment in the Tiny Pretty Things series.
"At one of Manhattan's most elite ballet schools, wafer-thin ballerinas pull their hair into sleek buns and lace their pointe shoes high, waiting for their chance to shine. But beneath the pretty, polished surface, these girls are hiding some terrible secrets and telling some twisted lies."
This first portion of the synopsis provided the majority of the focus, throughout. The polished realm of elite ballerinas is easy to romanticise but this book revealed the toxicity that the competitive nature of dance can also promote. The individuals who excel inside the school's confines are all there due to their competitive natures, which has resulted in their status as elite dancers. It is this same spirit, however, that also allows them to stop at nothing to maintain their precarious perch at the top.
I am glad this included a diversity of race and sexuality and focused on a myriad of potential problems these dancers faced inside this rotten world they resided in. There were issues to contend with from every areas of the ballerina's lives, both on and off stage. The book opened with scenes of petty drama and bitchy backstabbing before delving into where this toxicity stemmed from and what was occurring behind the scenes to result in these young dancers lashing out in the ways that they did. The multiple perspectives ensured, despite the horrors they inflicted upon one another, I found empathy for all as all also had their own areas of suffering to also contend with. I could not excuse their behaviour but it was their surroundings that took the majority of the blame, for me.
"At one of Manhattan's most elite ballet schools, wafer-thin ballerinas pull their hair into sleek buns and lace their pointe shoes high, waiting for their chance to shine. But beneath the pretty, polished surface, these girls are hiding some terrible secrets and telling some twisted lies."
This first portion of the synopsis provided the majority of the focus, throughout. The polished realm of elite ballerinas is easy to romanticise but this book revealed the toxicity that the competitive nature of dance can also promote. The individuals who excel inside the school's confines are all there due to their competitive natures, which has resulted in their status as elite dancers. It is this same spirit, however, that also allows them to stop at nothing to maintain their precarious perch at the top.
I am glad this included a diversity of race and sexuality and focused on a myriad of potential problems these dancers faced inside this rotten world they resided in. There were issues to contend with from every areas of the ballerina's lives, both on and off stage. The book opened with scenes of petty drama and bitchy backstabbing before delving into where this toxicity stemmed from and what was occurring behind the scenes to result in these young dancers lashing out in the ways that they did. The multiple perspectives ensured, despite the horrors they inflicted upon one another, I found empathy for all as all also had their own areas of suffering to also contend with. I could not excuse their behaviour but it was their surroundings that took the majority of the blame, for me.
May 21, 2015
Tiny Pretty Things was everything it promised it would be—dark, intense, dramatic. And, it was all the things I didn’t expect it to be—diverse, real, scary. When a book promises me a mix of Pretty Little Liars and Black Swan, obviously I’m going to finish the book in a single sitting. And I did. And I loved it, goddammit.
The book follows the three best dancers—Bette, June and Gigi—of a Manhattan ballet school that trains its students to enter the American Ballet Company. It is an exclusive school, only for the best of the best, and it takes your money to make you the best. But what it doesn’t tell you is how such a cut throat competition changes you and makes you do things you’d never do and be a person you don’t even recognise anymore.
Bette was the girl that the American Ballet Conservatory revolved around. To anyone in the school, it was easy to see that she had everything—the flawless doll body, the perfect boyfriend, the celebrity sister, the rich family. She was the perfect mean girl, destroying everything and everyone who stood in her path to being “luminous.” During the course of the book she did some things that were both awful and disgusting—but here’s the thing: seemingly, it’s normal for girls to want to destroy other girls who pose as competition to them. And that’s what Bette did. And she did it with hardly any amount of remorse.
June was the half Korean with an eating disorder. I think, of all characters that I read about in the book, June was by far the…darkest? I don’t know how to put it. She had a kind of hurt inside of her that was raw and unattended to and it was an open wound that kept on festering. The fact that all her friends had turned against her, combined with the frustration of not having known her father and coming from the heritage that she came from all came together and kind of kept breaking her, over and over and over. It hurt to read and she certainly did some wrong stuff, things that should have never been done under any circumstance. And I’m not saying I agree with her reasons, not at all. I’m saying that I understand where she comes from. I’m saying that I didn’t like her or her motives but I understood her.
Gigi was the newest entrant in the school…and probably it’s brightest—a fact that bothered both Bette and June. Gigi got the part that Bette had always dreamed of, and her arrival made June even more invisible to the teachers of the school. I think Gigi was the kindest soul in the school, except I’m afraid that certain things that happened with her in the book may have destroyed her positive outlook too. Gigi had her own set of problems—being the only African-American in a school where only white blonds were acceptable to be cast on stage was not easy for her. And she had other things to worry about. Things best explained in Gigi’s own voice. So it wasn’t like her life in the school was the easiest, but I daresay she let it affect her the least.
There was also an engaging cast of other supporting characters that I wished to constantly see more and more and more of. My favourites were Henri and Eleanor and if there’s a sequel (PLEASE GOD LET THERE BE A SEQUEL AND LET THIS BE A SERIES) then reading them both again is going to be wonderful! And gah, I would totally read spin offs based on each single supporting character because yes, they were that wonderful. Each single character said or did or thought something that made me want to weep and laugh and curse and sometimes all of them.
I’ve never been personally involved in a world such as the one in this book, the authors have brought me as close to it as I can ever be. I cannot even imagine that something like this happens to people—teenagers!—and that these same teenagers do things like this. And have these kind of things done to them. And the other thing I loved about this book? It doesn’t shy away from dark, controversial topics that need to be talked about. It talks about the good and light but it also talks about how we sometimes lack in our high and mighty education systems. It talks about romances and the gentle steps of a first love but it also talks about anorexia and ADHD. And it tackles each issue spectacularly, while also leaving no stone unturned in making the reader feel the pain and hurt that made up this book.
My favourite part about this book was the writing. So tense and wicked, but so true in its way of remaining faithful to each character. I’m not the hugest fan of a multiple POV (I don’t even like dual POVs) but Tiny Pretty Things gave me no trouble in shifting tracks while I read. Each character had her own voice, her own thoughts, her own life. And I could feel how good the authors are at what they do. If I could, I would go up to both the spectacular women behind this book and hug them for ten minutes each. These women made me cry for characters that were supposed to be evil and villainous. They made me want to rage at a system I’m not even a part of. And more than anything else, their writing reminded me EXACTLY why I continue to read.
*I was provided a free ecopy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This did not in any way, however, influence the content of this review.*
The book follows the three best dancers—Bette, June and Gigi—of a Manhattan ballet school that trains its students to enter the American Ballet Company. It is an exclusive school, only for the best of the best, and it takes your money to make you the best. But what it doesn’t tell you is how such a cut throat competition changes you and makes you do things you’d never do and be a person you don’t even recognise anymore.
Bette was the girl that the American Ballet Conservatory revolved around. To anyone in the school, it was easy to see that she had everything—the flawless doll body, the perfect boyfriend, the celebrity sister, the rich family. She was the perfect mean girl, destroying everything and everyone who stood in her path to being “luminous.” During the course of the book she did some things that were both awful and disgusting—but here’s the thing: seemingly, it’s normal for girls to want to destroy other girls who pose as competition to them. And that’s what Bette did. And she did it with hardly any amount of remorse.
June was the half Korean with an eating disorder. I think, of all characters that I read about in the book, June was by far the…darkest? I don’t know how to put it. She had a kind of hurt inside of her that was raw and unattended to and it was an open wound that kept on festering. The fact that all her friends had turned against her, combined with the frustration of not having known her father and coming from the heritage that she came from all came together and kind of kept breaking her, over and over and over. It hurt to read and she certainly did some wrong stuff, things that should have never been done under any circumstance. And I’m not saying I agree with her reasons, not at all. I’m saying that I understand where she comes from. I’m saying that I didn’t like her or her motives but I understood her.
Gigi was the newest entrant in the school…and probably it’s brightest—a fact that bothered both Bette and June. Gigi got the part that Bette had always dreamed of, and her arrival made June even more invisible to the teachers of the school. I think Gigi was the kindest soul in the school, except I’m afraid that certain things that happened with her in the book may have destroyed her positive outlook too. Gigi had her own set of problems—being the only African-American in a school where only white blonds were acceptable to be cast on stage was not easy for her. And she had other things to worry about. Things best explained in Gigi’s own voice. So it wasn’t like her life in the school was the easiest, but I daresay she let it affect her the least.
There was also an engaging cast of other supporting characters that I wished to constantly see more and more and more of. My favourites were Henri and Eleanor and if there’s a sequel (PLEASE GOD LET THERE BE A SEQUEL AND LET THIS BE A SERIES) then reading them both again is going to be wonderful! And gah, I would totally read spin offs based on each single supporting character because yes, they were that wonderful. Each single character said or did or thought something that made me want to weep and laugh and curse and sometimes all of them.
I’ve never been personally involved in a world such as the one in this book, the authors have brought me as close to it as I can ever be. I cannot even imagine that something like this happens to people—teenagers!—and that these same teenagers do things like this. And have these kind of things done to them. And the other thing I loved about this book? It doesn’t shy away from dark, controversial topics that need to be talked about. It talks about the good and light but it also talks about how we sometimes lack in our high and mighty education systems. It talks about romances and the gentle steps of a first love but it also talks about anorexia and ADHD. And it tackles each issue spectacularly, while also leaving no stone unturned in making the reader feel the pain and hurt that made up this book.
My favourite part about this book was the writing. So tense and wicked, but so true in its way of remaining faithful to each character. I’m not the hugest fan of a multiple POV (I don’t even like dual POVs) but Tiny Pretty Things gave me no trouble in shifting tracks while I read. Each character had her own voice, her own thoughts, her own life. And I could feel how good the authors are at what they do. If I could, I would go up to both the spectacular women behind this book and hug them for ten minutes each. These women made me cry for characters that were supposed to be evil and villainous. They made me want to rage at a system I’m not even a part of. And more than anything else, their writing reminded me EXACTLY why I continue to read.
*I was provided a free ecopy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This did not in any way, however, influence the content of this review.*
November 18, 2014
i adored this book. such a spot-on depiction of the high-stakes world of young girls vying to be the next prima ballerina.
the wonderful thing about TINY PRETTY THINGS is that it's not a book that shies away from both sides of the coin, nor is it a book that unnecessarily glamorizes anything. though i've never been embroiled in such a world, i feel as though this comes as close as i'll ever be to what it's like to struggle, to fight, to slave over something that, by its very definition needs to come across as effortless.
interestingly enough, charaipotra and clayton have managed to do just that in TINY PRETTY THINGS--make a difficult feat seem entirely effortless. the perspectives they've chosen in their book run the gamut, and it's so refreshing to read from the vantage point of characters from all walks of life.
seriously, if you (like me) love anything to do with ballerinas and intrigue, you NEED to read this book. it's going on my shelf the minute it's released. just as it needs to be on yours.
the wonderful thing about TINY PRETTY THINGS is that it's not a book that shies away from both sides of the coin, nor is it a book that unnecessarily glamorizes anything. though i've never been embroiled in such a world, i feel as though this comes as close as i'll ever be to what it's like to struggle, to fight, to slave over something that, by its very definition needs to come across as effortless.
interestingly enough, charaipotra and clayton have managed to do just that in TINY PRETTY THINGS--make a difficult feat seem entirely effortless. the perspectives they've chosen in their book run the gamut, and it's so refreshing to read from the vantage point of characters from all walks of life.
seriously, if you (like me) love anything to do with ballerinas and intrigue, you NEED to read this book. it's going on my shelf the minute it's released. just as it needs to be on yours.
July 17, 2017
Backstabbing Ballerinas.
These books are so intense. This is my favorite contemporary series for a reason.
I love all the girls, because they're all terrible. Well, not Gigi - not yet.
Bette and Sei-Jin are "mean girls", but not your stereotypical mean girls. June is silent and dangerous. Gigi is a good person, but this school brings out the worst in everyone.
The only complaint I have is that I didn't like the romance. Alec is dull and I do not understand what Bette and Gigi see in him.
These books are so intense. This is my favorite contemporary series for a reason.
I love all the girls, because they're all terrible. Well, not Gigi - not yet.
Bette and Sei-Jin are "mean girls", but not your stereotypical mean girls. June is silent and dangerous. Gigi is a good person, but this school brings out the worst in everyone.
The only complaint I have is that I didn't like the romance. Alec is dull and I do not understand what Bette and Gigi see in him.
Want to read
November 28, 2020definitely not me adding this book because i love the cover but will probably end up hating the book if i actually get around to reading it from what i can tell from the synopsis.
who, ME? noooo
who, ME? noooo
August 26, 2015
This book was super ridiculous, but I still enjoyed it on a really superficial level.
March 24, 2016
Originally posted on Super Space Chick:
Tiny Pretty Things is the first book in a series by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton focusing on the competitive world of ballet. As soon as I heard the pitch (Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars) I knew this book would be something I would enjoy. There’s something so fascinating to me about these girls who have such dedication to their talent, follow a strict set of rules and how cutthroat they can be toward one another because they’re competing in an industry with such limited job placement. The story focuses on three main characters, Bette, Gigi and June and it follows them throughout an entire year at their prestigious Manhattan ballet school. The book is full of drama and it’ll constantly keep you on your toes, never giving you a clear indication of who to trust. This is one book I devoured and I plan to read the sequel as soon as it debuts.
Tiny Pretty Things has three main POVs that the story is told from. June is a half Korean girl who is always cast in the understudy role. She struggles with never having known her father and she after an incident, she never allows herself to get close to anyone else at the school. Gigi is the new girl and unlike the majority of her class, she’s of African American descent. She’s much more carefree, having moved from California, and she is by far the most personable, grounded and genuine of the girls. Lastly, there’s Bette, the stereotypical mean girl and Queen Bee of the ballerinas. She’s constantly trying to juggle living up to her sister’s legacy, her alcoholic and mostly absent mother, and her own insecurities. Each character has a compelling point of view of the events that occur while they’re at school and I especially appreciated the diversity between each of them. There were moments where I felt like each girl was my favorite character. There are other students who play a predominant role in the story from love interests, to frenemies and even to teachers. Tiny Pretty Thingsis a book I would suggest reading for the characters alone, though if you struggle with unreliable narrators, you may take issue with the story.
On top of the compelling characters, I also fell in love with the setting of the story. I love that it takes place in Manhattan and having lived in or under an hour away from Manhattan for almost my whole life, I will never tire of seeing the city through someone else’s eyes. Add the ballet school to the mix, which allows for the excitement of finding out who will be cast in which roles and just how far certain dancers will go to achieve their goals, and I was completely hooked. The entire time I was reading, I felt as though I was so close to unraveling a mystery but no matter how close I came, there were still pieces missing. Even as certain things are revealed, there’s still more unanswered questions to keep you wondering. Tiny Pretty Things also deals with many serious issues that teenagers face including bullying, racism, eating disorders and drug addiction and it’s all done very well.
Final Thoughts: Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton is a whirlwind of a story set at an elite ballet academy in New York City. It follows a diverse cast of characters during their trials and tribulations as they ready themselves for the competitive world of ballet. The book is full of unreliable narrators, backstabbing ballerinas, and it tackles some very serious issues that many young girls face. I loved everything about this book from the characters to the setting to the plot and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys drama filled YA. I cannot wait for Shiny Broken Pieces which debuts later this year!
Tiny Pretty Things is the first book in a series by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton focusing on the competitive world of ballet. As soon as I heard the pitch (Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars) I knew this book would be something I would enjoy. There’s something so fascinating to me about these girls who have such dedication to their talent, follow a strict set of rules and how cutthroat they can be toward one another because they’re competing in an industry with such limited job placement. The story focuses on three main characters, Bette, Gigi and June and it follows them throughout an entire year at their prestigious Manhattan ballet school. The book is full of drama and it’ll constantly keep you on your toes, never giving you a clear indication of who to trust. This is one book I devoured and I plan to read the sequel as soon as it debuts.
Tiny Pretty Things has three main POVs that the story is told from. June is a half Korean girl who is always cast in the understudy role. She struggles with never having known her father and she after an incident, she never allows herself to get close to anyone else at the school. Gigi is the new girl and unlike the majority of her class, she’s of African American descent. She’s much more carefree, having moved from California, and she is by far the most personable, grounded and genuine of the girls. Lastly, there’s Bette, the stereotypical mean girl and Queen Bee of the ballerinas. She’s constantly trying to juggle living up to her sister’s legacy, her alcoholic and mostly absent mother, and her own insecurities. Each character has a compelling point of view of the events that occur while they’re at school and I especially appreciated the diversity between each of them. There were moments where I felt like each girl was my favorite character. There are other students who play a predominant role in the story from love interests, to frenemies and even to teachers. Tiny Pretty Thingsis a book I would suggest reading for the characters alone, though if you struggle with unreliable narrators, you may take issue with the story.
On top of the compelling characters, I also fell in love with the setting of the story. I love that it takes place in Manhattan and having lived in or under an hour away from Manhattan for almost my whole life, I will never tire of seeing the city through someone else’s eyes. Add the ballet school to the mix, which allows for the excitement of finding out who will be cast in which roles and just how far certain dancers will go to achieve their goals, and I was completely hooked. The entire time I was reading, I felt as though I was so close to unraveling a mystery but no matter how close I came, there were still pieces missing. Even as certain things are revealed, there’s still more unanswered questions to keep you wondering. Tiny Pretty Things also deals with many serious issues that teenagers face including bullying, racism, eating disorders and drug addiction and it’s all done very well.
Final Thoughts: Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton is a whirlwind of a story set at an elite ballet academy in New York City. It follows a diverse cast of characters during their trials and tribulations as they ready themselves for the competitive world of ballet. The book is full of unreliable narrators, backstabbing ballerinas, and it tackles some very serious issues that many young girls face. I loved everything about this book from the characters to the setting to the plot and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys drama filled YA. I cannot wait for Shiny Broken Pieces which debuts later this year!
October 26, 2019
One of my jams is stories set at boarding schools. And even better, a boarding school with an elite student body. So, this book felt like a fun, soapy slam dunk grand jeté.
But I just cannot keep going for one more goddamn page.
Bette, June, and Gigi (short for Giselle) are all students and our narrators at an exclusive ballet/boarding school in New York City, clearly modeled on the School of American Ballet. They all want to snag the plum (I’m so sorry) role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the annual Nutcracker performance. They eat (sometimes), breathe, and pirouette ballet. So, when golden legacy child Bette is passed over for the part, heads and jambes will roll. Also there are so few cute heterosexual boys to fight over. It’s a recipe for disaster.
At least the way things are done at this school, because bullying, pranks, and theft are serious problems here and the staff are disconnected and ineffectual, even though we are told early on that a girl was tormented into leaving recently. It wasn’t fun to read. And there was way too much boy drama—both of the straight boys like new girl, Gigi—and that was just boring to read.
My soapy ballet fantasy realness fantasy reduced to hormonal mean girls in tutus. Quel fromage.
This is set to be turned into a Netflix series, so I might give it another chance then. It’s the kind of trifle the CW could turn out in their sleep though.
But I just cannot keep going for one more goddamn page.
Bette, June, and Gigi (short for Giselle) are all students and our narrators at an exclusive ballet/boarding school in New York City, clearly modeled on the School of American Ballet. They all want to snag the plum (I’m so sorry) role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the annual Nutcracker performance. They eat (sometimes), breathe, and pirouette ballet. So, when golden legacy child Bette is passed over for the part, heads and jambes will roll. Also there are so few cute heterosexual boys to fight over. It’s a recipe for disaster.
At least the way things are done at this school, because bullying, pranks, and theft are serious problems here and the staff are disconnected and ineffectual, even though we are told early on that a girl was tormented into leaving recently. It wasn’t fun to read. And there was way too much boy drama—both of the straight boys like new girl, Gigi—and that was just boring to read.
My soapy ballet fantasy realness fantasy reduced to hormonal mean girls in tutus. Quel fromage.
This is set to be turned into a Netflix series, so I might give it another chance then. It’s the kind of trifle the CW could turn out in their sleep though.
January 25, 2021
Ich muss zugeben, dass ich mir nicht sicher war, ob ich 2 oder 3 ⭐️ geben soll. Da mir das Ende aber doch ganz gut gefallen hat und es auch Lust auf den zweiten Teil macht, habe ich mich für drei Sterne entschieden. Leider konnte mich die restliche Geschichte nicht so sehr packen, wie ich es mir erhofft hatte. Ich werde jetzt erstmal die Netflix Serie schauen und dann überlegen, ob ich den nächsten Teil bald lesen werde. Das Ende vom ersten Band verspricht nämlich eigentlich schon eine spannende Fortsetzung 🌝
May 2, 2018
THE GOOD:
* it’s about ballerinas, and as someone who REALLY WANTED to be a ballerina when I was younger, I LOVE BOOKS WITH BALLERINAS
* very intense - both of them were honestly such page turners, I binged them SO quickly - they were like chocolate in book form
* diversity yaaaassss - 2 of the POV characters are black and asian, respectively
* everyone backstabs everyone and it’s deliciously evil and devious and I loved it, because sometimes we need books where we hate everyone
* so much drama and pettiness oh LORD
* they deal with social issues as well - racism, discrimination, it touches on the “white Russian ballet”
* it’s Mean Girls meets Pretty Little Liars meets Gossip Girl
* THOSE GORGEOUS COVERS
THE BAD:
* I didn’t enjoy the sequel as much as I did the first book
* I noticed a couple of plot holes/scenes that didn’t really make sense to be included and the just… left hanging
* the second book felt a bit repetitive and it made me mad because no one learned anything from the first book lol
Special mentions: trigger warning for eating disorders, physical abuse, emotional abuse, suicide attempt
YAY or NAY: YAY we all need some sweet escape and petty drama once in a while
Tiny Pretty Things ★★★★★
Shiny Broken Pieces ★★★★
To everyone who got this far, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! Also, feel free to share your thoughts, comment or tell me anything :)
Buy it from the Book Depository :)
If you liked this stupid review, consider buying me a coffee because it keeps me warm :)
* it’s about ballerinas, and as someone who REALLY WANTED to be a ballerina when I was younger, I LOVE BOOKS WITH BALLERINAS
* very intense - both of them were honestly such page turners, I binged them SO quickly - they were like chocolate in book form
* diversity yaaaassss - 2 of the POV characters are black and asian, respectively
* everyone backstabs everyone and it’s deliciously evil and devious and I loved it, because sometimes we need books where we hate everyone
* so much drama and pettiness oh LORD
* they deal with social issues as well - racism, discrimination, it touches on the “white Russian ballet”
* it’s Mean Girls meets Pretty Little Liars meets Gossip Girl
* THOSE GORGEOUS COVERS
THE BAD:
* I didn’t enjoy the sequel as much as I did the first book
* I noticed a couple of plot holes/scenes that didn’t really make sense to be included and the just… left hanging
* the second book felt a bit repetitive and it made me mad because no one learned anything from the first book lol
Special mentions: trigger warning for eating disorders, physical abuse, emotional abuse, suicide attempt
YAY or NAY: YAY we all need some sweet escape and petty drama once in a while
Tiny Pretty Things ★★★★★
Shiny Broken Pieces ★★★★
To everyone who got this far, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! Also, feel free to share your thoughts, comment or tell me anything :)
Buy it from the Book Depository :)
If you liked this stupid review, consider buying me a coffee because it keeps me warm :)
February 20, 2016
DRAMA LLAMA
After finishing Tiny Pretty Things, I've come to wonder whether all ballerinas are like this, whether they are all super competitive. There is so much drama, tons of it, and why do these girls just keep harassing each other?
The chapters alternate between Gigi, the new girl in New York from California, Bette, the girl who has everything, and June, the perfectionist. Gigi is new and the only black ballet dancer in the Academy, and even so she has been casted the lead roles in both The Nutcracker and Giselle. Bette, having everything being taken away from her, including her boyfriend Alec, by Gigi, starts bullying Gigi. And then June, who is half-asian (!!) does the same because her mom is threatening to take her out of the Academy, since all she's been getting are understudy roles.
Did I mention how much drama there was in this? Does this actually happen in companies or I guess in ballet academies such as this one? Some of the things that happened to Gigi were horrible, yet to be honest I understood the jealousy that June and Bette had for her. Though honestly this is why the lead role should never go to the same person!
Even though I loved the diversity, there wasn't much going on plot wise. It was the same harassment, and it was sad to see Gigi slowly go a little crazy because of all the girls plotting against her. And no one was friends with anyone, or at least they pretended to be friends. Ha.
To make it clear, the only reason I rated this as 3 stars is because I'm not such a huge fan of drama. And I hate reading about bullying. And someone really needs to enlighten me about ballet, because this is just scary if some of these things are accurate and actually happen.
After finishing Tiny Pretty Things, I've come to wonder whether all ballerinas are like this, whether they are all super competitive. There is so much drama, tons of it, and why do these girls just keep harassing each other?
The chapters alternate between Gigi, the new girl in New York from California, Bette, the girl who has everything, and June, the perfectionist. Gigi is new and the only black ballet dancer in the Academy, and even so she has been casted the lead roles in both The Nutcracker and Giselle. Bette, having everything being taken away from her, including her boyfriend Alec, by Gigi, starts bullying Gigi. And then June, who is half-asian (!!) does the same because her mom is threatening to take her out of the Academy, since all she's been getting are understudy roles.
Did I mention how much drama there was in this? Does this actually happen in companies or I guess in ballet academies such as this one? Some of the things that happened to Gigi were horrible, yet to be honest I understood the jealousy that June and Bette had for her. Though honestly this is why the lead role should never go to the same person!
Even though I loved the diversity, there wasn't much going on plot wise. It was the same harassment, and it was sad to see Gigi slowly go a little crazy because of all the girls plotting against her. And no one was friends with anyone, or at least they pretended to be friends. Ha.
To make it clear, the only reason I rated this as 3 stars is because I'm not such a huge fan of drama. And I hate reading about bullying. And someone really needs to enlighten me about ballet, because this is just scary if some of these things are accurate and actually happen.
March 14, 2020
4.0 Stars
This is a fun and addicting story, involving juicy teenage drama with plenty of gossip and backstabbing. Reading this novel felt like eating an indulgent dessert. The story was fairly superficial in nature, yet it was deliciously decadent to consume.
I appreciated the diversity within the cast of characters, in terms of both ethnicity and sexual orientation. It's refreshing to read about a representative casts of teenagers, particularly in a ballet setting, which is a notoriously Caucasian dominant form of dance.
While this is primarily a "fun" read, this novel still manages to touch on important topics such a cultural pressures, self medicating and eating disorders, which could be triggering. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel.
This is a fun and addicting story, involving juicy teenage drama with plenty of gossip and backstabbing. Reading this novel felt like eating an indulgent dessert. The story was fairly superficial in nature, yet it was deliciously decadent to consume.
I appreciated the diversity within the cast of characters, in terms of both ethnicity and sexual orientation. It's refreshing to read about a representative casts of teenagers, particularly in a ballet setting, which is a notoriously Caucasian dominant form of dance.
While this is primarily a "fun" read, this novel still manages to touch on important topics such a cultural pressures, self medicating and eating disorders, which could be triggering. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel.
June 23, 2016
full review up here!
first reread: June 2016
I loved it just as much this second time around... let me just tell you, this book has me LIVING for the drama.
I was sucked into this book within ten pages, and I barely put it down the entire time I was reading it. if you like drama and lots of it, this book may be the one for you. it's nonstop drama filled with determined and sometimes truly mean girls, serious subjects like eating disorders and drug use, all against the beautiful and painful backdrop of the ballet. I loved this book!
first reread: June 2016
I loved it just as much this second time around... let me just tell you, this book has me LIVING for the drama.
I was sucked into this book within ten pages, and I barely put it down the entire time I was reading it. if you like drama and lots of it, this book may be the one for you. it's nonstop drama filled with determined and sometimes truly mean girls, serious subjects like eating disorders and drug use, all against the beautiful and painful backdrop of the ballet. I loved this book!
June 7, 2016
DNF
I'm really tired of posting full reviews for DNF's. So I've decided to post a mini review.
This is a case of 'It not you but me.' This book is too dramatic for my taste. I have yet to find a ballet book that works for me.
I recommend this to contemporary fans who like lots of drama in their contemporaries.
I'm really tired of posting full reviews for DNF's. So I've decided to post a mini review.
This is a case of 'It not you but me.' This book is too dramatic for my taste. I have yet to find a ballet book that works for me.
I recommend this to contemporary fans who like lots of drama in their contemporaries.
June 30, 2015
This review was originally posted on About to Read. For Fairytale fashions, reads, and more visit abouttoread.com
***
Tiny Pretty Things was unexpectedly awesome! I knew from the pitch “Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars” that this was going to be my kind of book. But Man did I love it!!! This is one of those books that you’re going to want to force all of your friends to read. And if you want to read it and chat about it with me than please, please do! I have so many feels on this one and I am dying to discuss them. With everyone.
If it was socially acceptable to go up to random strangers, force them to read this book, and then make them chat about it with me, I would do that. It’s that intense you guys!
So, I am just going to talk about the characters and the plot in one shot for this book because they share one key quality and it just happens to be the only quality that matters. They are both a complete mind f**k. I mean, seriously! I have no idea who did what. I think some of the characters are lying to me, but I don’t know which ones. I think some of them are insane, but I don’t know which ones. I think there may have been a character behind all of the madness that we never really got to see, but I don’t know for sure. And it’s driving me crazy!
The only thing I really know about Tiny Pretty Things is that I don’t know. And I probably never will because I don’t believe there is a sequel slated (but if they decide to make one, I will literally devour it because I need more). This was psychological thriller at it’s absolute finest.
***
Tiny Pretty Things was unexpectedly awesome! I knew from the pitch “Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars” that this was going to be my kind of book. But Man did I love it!!! This is one of those books that you’re going to want to force all of your friends to read. And if you want to read it and chat about it with me than please, please do! I have so many feels on this one and I am dying to discuss them. With everyone.
If it was socially acceptable to go up to random strangers, force them to read this book, and then make them chat about it with me, I would do that. It’s that intense you guys!
So, I am just going to talk about the characters and the plot in one shot for this book because they share one key quality and it just happens to be the only quality that matters. They are both a complete mind f**k. I mean, seriously! I have no idea who did what. I think some of the characters are lying to me, but I don’t know which ones. I think some of them are insane, but I don’t know which ones. I think there may have been a character behind all of the madness that we never really got to see, but I don’t know for sure. And it’s driving me crazy!
The only thing I really know about Tiny Pretty Things is that I don’t know. And I probably never will because I don’t believe there is a sequel slated (but if they decide to make one, I will literally devour it because I need more). This was psychological thriller at it’s absolute finest.
August 22, 2019
EDIT: i tried giving it a go again, but I DNF'ed after pushing myself to page 320. I know I am quite close to the ending, but I just don't care. The characters are plain, the story revolves about backstabbing ballerinas without advancing (or at last it feels like that to me) and I am done.
I am sorry, because i love other books by Clayton, but this one I can't seem to enjoy...
It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me and halfway it I stopped reading.
I am sorry, because i love other books by Clayton, but this one I can't seem to enjoy...
It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me and halfway it I stopped reading.
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