Tiny Pretty Things

I honestly couldn’t tell you what it is, but there is something about the “Drama and mean girl bitchery happening at a boarding school/organization for some kind of art form” trope that I am a complete and total sucker for. It doesn’t necessarily HAVE to be about ballet (after all the movie “Fame” isn’t strictly about that art form and I LOVE it), but it’s just an added bonus if it is. “Center Stage” is by no means a good movie, but if I stumble upon it on the TV I am guaranteed to watch it. “Black Swan” messed me up real good and I could have taken even MORE mental anguish and paranoia from it. Because the competition of being the best within the strict and narrow world of ballet makes people do AWFUL THINGS, show more according to this trope, and I live for it. So of course “Tiny Pretty Things” was going to appeal to me. The fact that it has an underlying mystery is really just a bonus, I would have picked it up regardless. But “Tiny Pretty Things” also surprised me in a lot of pleasant ways. In a book that could have easily been about a bunch of spoiled and rich white girls (as the ballet world and culture is disproportionately white), authors Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton instead represented a rather diverse cast of characters, and the struggles they all face trying to fit into the ballet box. And they do this seamlessly, weaving these everyday moments of frustration or microaggressions against them into the bigger picture, so their struggles are just a natural, and yet exposed, part of their day to day realities. And there are a LOT of themes here, and since I want to break them all down, we’re going to have a lot to talk about.

One of the themes this book talks about is discrimination in the ballet world, both racial and sexual orientation. Gigi, being the only black student at the school, is always being put in the ‘Other’ role by those around her, be it fellow dancers or even the administrators. Her talents and merits are always being picked apart by those around her, and there is always a question of how much she deserves the roles that she’s getting. June, too, isn’t immune to such treatment, even if it’s to a different extent. Her biracial ethnicity has left her without a group, and since she has never known who her father is she is feeling even more like she has never known her true identity. And while they aren’t given many perspective moments, it’s mentioned that there are a number of the Korean dancers at this school who are absolutely fantastic at dance… but never get lead roles, and rarely get solos, because they just don’t ‘fit’ the part. Not only are racial biases spoken of, but so are those of sexuality and the idea of masculine and feminine ideals. There are two GLBT characters in this book, and while neither of them have perspective chapters, you do get to learn a bit about them through the other girls eyes. William is gay, and is definitely one of the best male dancers at the school. But again, because he doesn’t meet the physical (and yes, sexual preference) ideal of how a male ballerina should be, he too is denied lead roles. And Sei-Jin, June’s enemy, is a closeted lesbian. She torments June but is also terrified that June will tell the world that she’s a lesbian, therein ruining her chances, in her mind, at stardom. I really appreciated that this was touched on in this book when it easily could have just been ignored.

Along with discrimination there is the obsession with perfection and how far you go to achieve it. Be it the eating disorders that June and another girl named Liz are living with, or the Adderall addiction that Bette has, the competition runs all of these girls completely ragged. And this is why even Bette, mean awful HORRIBLE Bette, is a character that I can’t completely hate. She is certainly entitled and spoiled and bordering on psychopathic, but it is because this is all she has been raised to know, even since she was a little girl. She has seen her perfect older sister rise into prominency in the ballet world, and now their emotionally abusive and alcoholic mother wants both of her daughters to be stars. So Bette, who has been raised to be a star, is driven to the extremes beyond her Adderall addiction to achieve this perfection, and starts to spiral into madness when it just can’t quite be achieved. I really liked that this story addresses the fact that these CHILDREN are being completely put through the ringer, and that most of them aren’t going to make it in the ways that they are being pushed to do so.

Which leads us into the mystery of this book (as yes, there is indeed a mystery). Since Gigi is new and black and doing phenomenally well, someone starts harassing her and tormenting her. And while it very well could be Bette (and some of it is Bette because she’s the worst), some of these pranks and taunts are downright violent. While I may have a pretty good idea as to who it is (this is the first in a duology, so it hasn’t been revealed yet), I’m not quite certain. And I love the fact that I’m not quite certain! There are other little mysteries in this book that are a bit more obvious(such as the identity of June’s father, which I won’t spoil here, but it’s really not too hard to figure out), and while that’s fine, the mystery in itself is pretty run of the mill. The joy and power of this book isn’t in the mystery, though there are lots of pretty amazingly over the top moments of drama that surround it. The joy is definitely in the complex issues that Charaipotra and Clayton put in here, as well as, yes, the juicy juicy drama. Whenever a book about ballerinas ends up with one of said ballerinas getting glass shards left in her ballet shoes, you KNOW that I’m going to be a total sucker for it.

I really really enjoyed “Tiny Pretty Things” and will certainly be picking up “Shiny Broken Pieces” as soon as possible. It’s definitely soapy and dramatic, but it uses this premise to talk about other, very relevant problems within the ballet culture. So it’s a double win for me. Definitely pick it up if you want something fun, light, but thoughtful. show less

A page-turner though it went a bit overboard on characters behaving badly.

Gigi, who is black and therefore unexpectedly on a rapid rise through the ranks at a ballet academy that traditionally reserves lead roles for the whitest of dancers, she’s the main target of bullying and the easiest character to like since she really does try to be kind and tries to make friends, and her affinity for nature was a refreshing change from stereotypical teen interests like fashion, partying, etc. Really the only thing you could fault this girl for is taking up with a guy before he’s officially ended his relationship with someone else. I wasn’t really a fan of that romance, with so many characters doing devious things it made it difficult to show more trust Alec enough to buy into his sincerity where Gigi was concerned. Actually none of the romances (if you could even call some of them that), really worked for me.

June is half-Korean and though she’s watching her black roommate cement herself in the spotlight, June is still left feeling like she has to work a thousand times harder and eat a whole lot less to truly be seen and get the opportunities her white contemporaries receive. June has a tendency to be cold and cutting and does some awful things, but in showing us her eating disorder, the strained relationship with her mother, the longing to know who her father is, the rejection and taunting from a former friend, the authors did a really great job of illustrating why this girl is the way she is so you could have empathy for her even as she sometimes behaves in ways you wish she wouldn’t.

Then there’s Bette, who is white and blonde, the once ideal for a ballerina who’s suddenly rejected by her teachers, rejected by her boyfriend, she’s extremely self-absorbed all but ignoring the things her so-called friends are going through because she’s too busy feeling sorry for herself and tormenting a fellow ballerina. But as with June, while you might not be able to declare Bette entirely likable, the uncomfortable encounters with Henri and the glimpses of the way she’s treated by her mother, particularly regarding her knee, gives you an understanding of this girl and so there are moments where I definitely felt for her.

I don’t doubt that the bullying featured here is to some degree accurate given how few placements there are in dance schools and companies, like in any other highly competitive situation there probably is a certain amount of sabotage, cruelty, and even criminality, but surely there are some genuine friendships in the dance world, aren’t there? To me, it just felt like the balance was a bit off, leaning so relentlessly into bad behavior gave the book a somewhat unreal quality that maybe could have been helped by a few more instances of showing girls supporting one another. show less

"Obsession is the wellspring of genius and madness."

Well, I'm completely surprised. A book about dance (something I'm not all that interested in) that I actually really liked. It's a mystery of sorts - full of catty backstabbing, horrible bullying and where no one is safe. And just when you think you know what's really going on....You realize, with another chapter, you have no idea.

I liked the players and not really knowing who they were or what their game was. I will definitely be reading book 2.

This was everything I wanted it to be! I loved the sabotage and the mystery surrounding it. It added this thick tension to the story that had you craving more. But the characters really make this. I had so many feelings and thoughts about each lead. I loved their character stories filled with gossip, weaknesses and strengths. I have my theories about what will happen next but I'm so excited to start book 2 tonight!

Although I found this novel a tad slow, overall, I quite enjoyed following the drama and competitiveness that occurs in a ballet boarding school. The cast was diverse, which I appreciated, and the novel dealt with some serious issues.

Narrated by three girls, Bette was determined to be the school's prima ballerina, Gigi was the newbie with a serious heart condition while June resorted to starvation and purging to stay slim. They battled against each other to win the lead role in each ballet performance and were quite vicious in their determination to be the star. From the start there was a huge amount of back-stabbing going on which made the three girls unlikeable. There was definitely no love loss between them! Drama, ruthlessness, show more sabotage, romance and secrets abounded.

While I wasn't enthralled with the characters, I did enjoy the setting with all its dance references and the ugliness behind the beauty of a ballet performance. Dark, gritty and full of drama, "Tiny Pretty Things" was an entertaining read. show less

Wow, these ballerinas are ruthless!! I really hope that this is not even a little bit accurate to what the real world of ballet is like. Most of the characters in this book are in serious need of therapy. Then when sane and normal Gigi comes in they eat the poor girl alive. The lack of authority was concerning and made things a little less believable but definitely made for an entertaining read. It also kept me guessing as to who did what and who could really be trusted. I loved that there were multiple point of views as well.

So I'm probably the only person on the face of the planet that has never seen Pretty Little Liars. I read the books, a few actually, and got so worn out that I said enough.

This book, though, I loved! I am not in any way, ballet inclined. The opportunity to venture into that world for awhile was amazing. I think I finished this book in about a day, and like another reviewer said, it's long. For me, I liked it long. I didn't want it ending, but I guess it had to.

I had a love hate relationship with Bette. The teetering on the edge of "its not my fault because I was made this way" played right to where my sympathy for her kept making me hope she would EVENTUALLY do the kind hearted thing. I also felt down right sorry for her. I do wish show more Eleanor had become a bit more developed, but I can see the opportunity for great things in the next book.

June worried me to death throughout the whole book, someone wake up Alec, Will is sneaky as hell, I don't know what Adele is plotting in the background, cause she pops up WAY too much, Mr. K reminds me of the pedophile neighbor guy underneath the stairs, someone please give Liz a cookie, Gigi...oh honey, you're sweet as pie.... And oh look, Cassie's back!

My only question is, these kids were out of school and sneaking around at night so much, it was like they never slept.(which for Bette was explained). How in the world were they never caught, not once?!

I will definitely be reading the next book. Loved this one. show less