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A review by mxhermit
Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small
4.0
CW: disordered eating, body dysmorphia, self harm, parental abandonment, drug use, drinking, suicide/suicide attempt, abortion & complex emotions afterwards
The world that Marine and Kate inhabit along with the other students at their ballet academy, Nanterre, is a juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness, darkness and light. With intense devotion to their craft, it will take everything they have to become peak performers, but does everyone have it or will the friendship that Marine and Kate have shared since their earliest student days fracture under the pressure?
Bright Burning Stars was a gripping story that engulfed my weekend. From watching Marine & Kate's friendship undergo trials to their experience at a hyper competitive ballet academy, it was a whirlwind to read.
Kate felt overwhelmingly naive at times. Her flaw was that she was too easily influenced by others. She was continually being swayed by people (their standings if they were fellow girls), their whims (Cyrille/Benjamin) so very easily. This was at odds with her intense passion & drive for her craft, which leads to some particularly intense plots moments for her.
Marine also had a conflicting time. Her personality was different from Kate's and it affected their experiences in the school (the pressures, the tests, etc.). There was a heavier feeling for much of her point of view. I enjoyed the moments she found with Luc and Little Alice because it seemed that they were moments of peace in the otherwise fraught environment of the school.
The precedent set for how the students treated one another was saddening & a bit frightening because of the pressure within themselves & the rules instituted by the school. Something as simple as a kiss on the cheek for the youngest students, eleven years of age, according to the rules would show favoritism and undue emotion. I understand that of course there would be pressure from only so many being able to rise, but at the expense of showing empathy? compassion? What does this make the dancers into?
Some of the darker moments concern body dysmorphia, eating disorder descriptions, and grieving scenes post-abortion. While the portrayal of an abortion (access, consent, etc) was good as far as I could tell, the person in question does have some intense emotions thereafter. Those moments, as well as the aforementioned darker moments, may be triggering to some readers, hence the CWs at the beginning of the review. Having said that, I think that for me, the instances the author chose to talk about regarding one character's E.D., specifically food restricting, highlighting one's body, etc., were a little more explicit than I was comfortable with.
A.K. Small demonstrated an elegance in the motions of her characters through the use of technical ballet terms and beautiful scenes that encapsulate them. Some of the terms were more familiar than others & looking the others up rounded out these scenes beautifully in my mind. Bright Burning Stars pulls threads from many emotional parts of the brain & heart to weave a story that is beautiful & terrible & written in a manner that will pull you along to the music of the tale because you will want to know what happens to the entire company before the final curtain call.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Quotes included are from an advanced reader copy and may not reflect the finalized copy.
The world that Marine and Kate inhabit along with the other students at their ballet academy, Nanterre, is a juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness, darkness and light. With intense devotion to their craft, it will take everything they have to become peak performers, but does everyone have it or will the friendship that Marine and Kate have shared since their earliest student days fracture under the pressure?
Bright Burning Stars was a gripping story that engulfed my weekend. From watching Marine & Kate's friendship undergo trials to their experience at a hyper competitive ballet academy, it was a whirlwind to read.
Kate felt overwhelmingly naive at times. Her flaw was that she was too easily influenced by others. She was continually being swayed by people (their standings if they were fellow girls), their whims (Cyrille/Benjamin) so very easily. This was at odds with her intense passion & drive for her craft, which leads to some particularly intense plots moments for her.
Marine also had a conflicting time. Her personality was different from Kate's and it affected their experiences in the school (the pressures, the tests, etc.). There was a heavier feeling for much of her point of view. I enjoyed the moments she found with Luc and Little Alice because it seemed that they were moments of peace in the otherwise fraught environment of the school.
The precedent set for how the students treated one another was saddening & a bit frightening because of the pressure within themselves & the rules instituted by the school. Something as simple as a kiss on the cheek for the youngest students, eleven years of age, according to the rules would show favoritism and undue emotion. I understand that of course there would be pressure from only so many being able to rise, but at the expense of showing empathy? compassion? What does this make the dancers into?
Some of the darker moments concern body dysmorphia, eating disorder descriptions, and grieving scenes post-abortion. While the portrayal of an abortion (access, consent, etc) was good as far as I could tell, the person in question does have some intense emotions thereafter. Those moments, as well as the aforementioned darker moments, may be triggering to some readers, hence the CWs at the beginning of the review. Having said that, I think that for me, the instances the author chose to talk about regarding one character's E.D., specifically food restricting, highlighting one's body, etc., were a little more explicit than I was comfortable with.
A.K. Small demonstrated an elegance in the motions of her characters through the use of technical ballet terms and beautiful scenes that encapsulate them. Some of the terms were more familiar than others & looking the others up rounded out these scenes beautifully in my mind. Bright Burning Stars pulls threads from many emotional parts of the brain & heart to weave a story that is beautiful & terrible & written in a manner that will pull you along to the music of the tale because you will want to know what happens to the entire company before the final curtain call.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Quotes included are from an advanced reader copy and may not reflect the finalized copy.