en-Tiny pretty things - Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton review

12/04/2020

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.

In this story we follow Gigi, Bette and June, the great ballerina's from the balletschool in Manhattan. They look cute and nice.... but are they? Their rivalry is on point. How far will they go and where will they draw the line? 

This was such a great story and it was so tense! I was literally shocked by how they treat eachother to achieve their goals and perfection. I understand they want to be perfect and want to get the full spotlight, but this kind of actions are insane. I would never feel safe at that school after this book. It was so tense and the scenes were so well written that it kind of felt real sometimes.

The story is told in different point of views, the ones of Gigi, Bette and June. This was so good! Because of these pov's we got a closer look in their lives and motives. We learned a lot about them and it created a bond between the reader and the characters. I learned so much about them, that I even started to feel sorry for them sometimes. Even though they did horrible things. 

I loved Bette's character, she is so interesting and complicated. She's so arrogant and bitchy, but her life isn't a fairytale at all. She has to live in the shadows of her older sister, the ballerina who dances for a balletcompany. She has to fight for her place on the stage and compete with other classmates to get the biggest role. It's not that easy when your mother does nothing to support you and only critisize you when you don't get the role. I felt bad for her and I don't support the choices she made, but I understand why she fights ugly to get what she wants. I admired Gigi's enthousiasm and her possitive attitude. The characters are well written and it's easy to place yourself in their footsteps. 

I really enjoyed the story and I definitely reccomend it. I loved reading from these different point of views and I can't wait for the next one.                                                     

  • Author: Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
  • Genre: Young Adult 
  • Themes: Ballet, leading roles, rivalry, trust, bullying,... 
  • Publisher: Harper Collins 
  • Published: June 2016
  • Pages: 464 pages
  • Rating: * * * *