As a former dancer, I love all things dance and ballet so was really excited for this one. It was enjoyable enough but probably not something I will read again. I struggled to identify with either of the main characters but I did think that the dance scenes were really well written.

I was really excited by the synopsis of this book, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this one. I really wanted to like the book and its characters, but I couldn’t seem to connect to them or the storyline. I ended up DNFing this book, unfortunately.

I am always on the lookout for books that take place in dance studios or the main characters are dancers. I liked the characters, but overall, I didn't really enjoy this. It was pretty boring and even after finishing the book, I don't remember much of the plot of the book.

**We received an early copy from Algonquin books in exchange for an honest review. Our opinions are our own. We’d like to thank Algonquin and A.K. Small for the opportunity. This book comes out on May 21st and you can get it here**

Thanks to Algonquin Books for the ARC! I (Linz) frickin’ love ballet books, so i was more than happy to review for the blog tour.


Synopsis:

Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School since childhood, where they’ve formed an inseparable bond forged by respective family tragedies and a fierce love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves what they would do to win the ultimate prize: to be the one girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they die? Cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic would make them shine, too? Neither girl is sure.

But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other.

In Bright Burning Stars, debut author A. K. Small pens a stunning, propulsive story about girls at their physical and emotional extremes, the gutting power of first love, and what it means to fight for your dreams.


What it’s about: Kate and Marine are besties/dancers at an elite Parisin ballet academy, where dancers compete for a spot in the pro dance company. How hard will these girls push themselves to earn that prize?

What I drank: Just a casual night of all the aperol spirtzers. spritzers. SPRITZES jesus.

Thoughts:
•Balet is some intense shit, and Small – who was a ballerina for all the years – shows that well. The dancers are never NOT in constant comptiting for the no 1spot, and they’re constaltly battling weight and stress levels. While Kate and Marine are besties, they’re still competing against each other, so there’s always a level of strain to their frienship.
•I wish we’d known more about the structure of the courseloads, how the structure and calsses actually works, bc i’m not real familiar w it. THey can’t all be doing teh same dance classes, no? And what academics are tehy studying? Theres a lot of references to hoemwork but i never got a good handle on what the homework was for. Also, there were jumps in the timeline, like we just skip over winter break. Do they all stay for winter break? can they go home or take trips ro do they keep training but have no acadenic classes?
•Kind of tied intot hat, bc of a LOT of characters story arcs…is it weird that the schools got a nutritonst but not a psychiatrist? I feel like nowadays ballet schools would have one
•is it mandatory for all ballet schoosl to have a bad boy male dancer who rocks a leather coat? (and this isn’t knocking the author like ALL ballet books have this dude)
•kate is a hormonal stresed out hot mess. Terrible choices in boys? check. love hate alousy for best friend? check. acting out instead of bverbalizing feelings? check. nothing is more relatable. I think this is why i found kate’s storyline and resolution to be stronger than marine’s, which is a little one-lane motivated (although understandable).

What I gave it: 3 stars. Solid satisfactory ballet book that’s far more real than a lot of the others on the market.

What I would pair it with:
– Me, vodka on the rocks. This was INTENSE, and I pay tribute to the great Russian dancers.
– From the author herself: “I would pair Bright Burning Stars with Tequila Sunrise. While beautiful to hold in your hand, the red-orange drink has a hard edge. So does this book!”

More reviews can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/
**2.5 Stars**

Bright Burning Stars tells the story of Marine and Kate, two best friends at an elite dance school in France, happily starting their last year at the academy. But they never expected all the challenges the year would throw at them, and the fact that their friendship and lives in general might not survive the year.

After seeing the movie Center Stage as a kid, I have been obsessed with anything having to do with dancing and dancing schools. Well, Bright Burning Stars is much more similar to the darkness and obsession of the movie Black Swan mixed with the dark under belly of the dancing show Skin and Bones. Don't expect a happy ending or a wonderful self discovery here, instead this was a sad story about two teen girls who are facing very adult issues without any help.

This was definitely a dark read, dealing with topics such as desperation, anxiety, stress, and how two teens cope with all this pressure. I would not suggest this book for younger teens (I would never suggest it for any teen, to be honest) due to the darker, mature content running rampant in the story. The book deals with drug use, sex, teen pregnancy, abortions, prostitution, suicide, body shaming, eating disorders and untreated mental issues- and not in a positive, helpful, learning a lesson kind of way, more for shock value it felt like. Actually, I would not even call this a YA book except for the fact the characters are 16. This should probably be listed as a NA or just plain adult book.

After finishing the book I will admit that I felt super let down. If you are looking for a story about two hot mess dancer girls with disaster and bad choices rampant, then this is the read for you. If you are looking for a story about two girls spiraling out of control with no assistance what so ever and a totally anticlimactic ending that made me feel like the whole book was a waste, then this is for you. I am sure someone will really love this book, I just did not connect to either girl and was not invested in the train wreck of their lives.

I unabashedly live my unfulfilled childhood dreams of becoming a ballerina by living vicariously through characters in books whose own lives are entrenched in the highly-competitive and prestigious world of elite ballet. When I had the opportunity to pick up an Advanced Readers Copy of debut YA author A.K. Small's Bright Burning Stars, I was ecstatic. The cover was mysteriously gorgeous, and the story held much promise of being true to life, as Small was born in Paris and trained as a ballerina there. For half a week, I excitedly delved into the world of the "rats" of the Paris Opera Ballet School in France daily, devouring all the tantalizing details of what it is like to be a ballet student in the most competitive of environments.

Bright Burning Stars introduces us to two ballet students with great promise - Marine and Kate. They also happen to be best friends and even Moon Sisters, sharing a room together at Nanterre, their ballet school, and making a Moon Pact one night to rule Nanterre and never let anyone come between them. However, the girls are now First Division dancers, and this is their last year to prove that they have what it takes to win the "Prize" - to be named the top female dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet School and to be invited to join the Paris Opera's corp de ballet. As the competition becomes a fierce "rat" race to the top, the girls have to examine just how far they will go to win the Prize, and if their friendship can withstand the competition. When Kate sets her sights on the top male dancer at Nanterre - Cyrille, the Demi-God - and Marine begins questioning if she can be top dancer with her less than traditional body type, the friendship and limits of the girls is pushed to the max. Just what would you do to win the Prize?

A.K. Small has created a brilliant, glittering, and seductively dark world of dance in Bright Burning Stars. Just like Marine and Kate are utterly consumed by ballet, you will find yourself obsessively turning the pages of this compulsive read. The Paris Opera Ballet School is cutthroat and dangerous, and I loved every minute of this book, which highlights the pitfalls and triumphs of the competition that elite athletes face, as well as the inner battles confronted by anyone who wants to be the best at their art or trade. Bright Burning Stars explores concepts such as pushing oneself to the brink of disaster, as well as finding redemption after you've sold your soul for the things you want most in this world. In all, this novel is sure to be savored and remembered by anyone who loves stories that examine the darkness that is hiding behind a smile; those stories that show us that all that glitters is not, in fact, gold.

I thought this was a fantastic debut novel! it went so much darker than I was expecting and I mean really dark topics! So I'd be a little hesitant to read this if you are easily triggered. The whole dance world is so intriguing and this book did not disapoint! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I obviously have a lot to learn about the competiveness of the dance world and everything they go through.

Bright Burning Stars was an emotionally charged story about two dancers that find that doing what it takes to win takes a toll on the one relationship that they each hold dear. Marine and Kate have been best friends at the Paris Opera Ballet School and have formed this intense bond after each suffering trauma in their personal lives. When they each are trying to for the top spot at the Opera’s company, the reader watches their relationship slowly unravel. What are they willing to lose to achieve their dream?

This book made me sad in a lot of respects because each character went through a lot to achieve their goals and this affected them mentally and physically. In the beginning of the book, these characters had an unshakeable bond but you could see that slowly unravel as they both fought to go up in the ranks. Heart-breaking and emotional, Bright Burning Stars show behind the scenes of what it takes to become the beautiful dancer on the stage

Bright Burning Stars is a ballet book set in Paris under the glittering lights of the stage and the harsh competition for a coveted spot in the company. This book follows best friends, Marine and Kate, who have been together since the beginning of the dance school. They start as friendly rivals but are quickly pulled into the inevitable competition that all dancers at the school must take part in.

Each girl deals with her own demons and coping mechanisms to make it through the end of the school year and looming competition. Weekly rankings of the dancers make tensions high as Marine and Kate are forever pitted against each other. The plot mostly covers the girls preparing for the competition and the extreme highs and lows of being a dancer. The book drags some in the middle until the competition and results finally come in.

Along with the ballet boarding school plot, the author also covers mental illness, disordered eating, and body image. This book has a lot of heavy content that readers should know about before beginning. The eating disorder is graphically described and realistic.

Marine and Kate. Best friends, confidants, and final year students at Nanterre, a premiere ballet academy in Paris. As the year starts, the stakes of the last year of school are high, and the girls find themselves in competition for the approval of the dance masters and of the "Demi-god," Cyrille, the top dancer in the school. When a student turns up murdered, the competition becomes more sinister, and their friendship is tested. What will each of the girls do to reach her goals in the ballet world?

I have to say I really enjoyed this novel from A.K. Small. I did ballet until I was 16 and I found this to be authentic and an accurate view of the "ballet world" with maybe a few extra pieces added for dramatic effect. The ballet language seemed natural and not forced within the storyline and I ate up all the friend drama, boy drama and everything in between. I think this would be great for a teen looking for a ballet story with a little grit.

This story shows the dangers within the world of dance. It is a beautiful art form, but there can be hidden tragedies behind the scenes.

One of the girls had an eating disorder, because she has always been a little bigger than the other girls. The other girl gets into some complicated relationships which lead her to make dangerous decisions. Though they are friends, they are ultimately competing to become number one. They can only stay friends for so long, since only one will win.

I used to dance, so I enjoyed this story. I was never a professional dancer like these girls, but I could imagine some of the dances they were performing. This dance world was scary to read about, because it was so cutthroat. Their teachers encouraged the dangerous behaviour by putting the girls down and criticizing them all the time. It was heartbreaking to read.

I really enjoyed this story! It had a twist ending which I didn’t see coming!

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers and Thomas Allen & Son for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story as it was exactly what I was expecting. I wanted to learn more about the world of ballet dancers and the fierce competition they go through to get where they are. I was not disappointed. The characters of M and Kate were also written very well. When there was conflict I could see where both sides were coming from, which is my favorite type of character representation. Overall, very good.

I'll disclaim this (that's an acceptable verb here, yes?) by saying that this book got me out of a huge reading slump. Bright Burning Stars is a gorgeous, atmospheric, gut-wrenching novel and A.K. Small has blown it out of the park with her debut novel.

I haven't read a ton of ballet books, but I've read a lot of psychological mind-trips, and this one ranks up there. Kate and Marine have a tough friendship, one of those that's based on love and admiration in the face of inherent rivalry as they compete for the best spots, the best partners, and the best story in their elite ballet school.

I often judge books about girls and female friendship based on how good the girls actually are to one another. And these girls are not very good to one another.

But.

They're both so well-crafted, you feel everything they feel. You feel that love, as well as their deep insecurities and fears. Kate, in particular, is often a nasty character. But her backstory and her motivations are so well illustrated that your heart just aches for her. I knew that girl. I watched her set herself up, again and again, for heartache and disappointment, but I can't do anything about it but hope she got to something better in the end.

The story is told in dual POV, which is popular but hard to pull off. But I think Kate and Marine's voices are different and I never felt tired or bored with one or the other, or confused them. The writing is solid, lush, and lovely.

There are definitely some content warnings here. Being a Ballet Book, there is a lot of emphasis put on their sizes, down to the half-pound, and that is difficult to read. In addition to disordered eating, there's also a lot of self-harm and other issues that just aren't ever addressed in any real way, and certainly not by the adults in the situations.

Should you read it? I don't know if Bright Burning Stars will be for everyone, especially considering some of the content. I think it's definitely for a slightly older audience despite the age of the characters. Despite that, if you like moody, twisting tales of competition, fierce and complicated love, and all the drama behind incredibly talented young artists, then check this out for sure. It left me breathless.

Bright Burning Stars is the tale of two prima ballerina hopefuls and their journey through their year as first class "rats" at the prestigious Nanterre Ballet Academy. Having been friends since they were in Division 6, Marine and Kate have each other’s backs regardless of their position in life and will support each other to the very end. Each after a single coveted spot with the Paris Opera, they are determined that one of them will take the crown.

The novel starts with the girls having come back from the shocking loss of one of their peers after she is found dead in her single room’s twin bed. The news has shaken up their entire division right on the eve of the commencement of their final year and the friends are determined not to let it get to them. Marine, the ever faithful friend, ranks lower in the scores than primadonna Kate, but so long as one of them wins the title, everything will be fine. Right? Wrong!

Enter the Demigod, a sweet-talking, hunk of a dancer and the love interest of, well, to be honest everyone who exists within the wall of the Nanterre Academy. When he starts to pay romantic attention to both of the girls, things start to heat up and loyalties are abandoned.

With Marine and Kate, you get what you would expect of ballerina hopefuls. They train all day and night, obsessively watch what they eat, and then generally act like teenage girls should during their spare time. As roommates since they both arrived at their prestigious school, they have developed a best friend relationship to rival all bestie relationships. They giggle and compare boys and come out altogether mostly whole by the end. It's sweet and gets even the most blackhole-instead-of-a-heart Ice Queen to feel all the things.

In the grand scheme of all things character development though, although the girls are the centre of the narrative (now don’t throw things), the male characters were better. There’s the Demigod who is slick and stunning both in appearance and his dance style – while reading this, I could envisage all the sweettalking pas de deux partners of my younger years. His charisma and talent and machismo all bundled into one highly toned, hunk of a teenager, as would be expected of a male dancer who is so close to being a professional.

Then there’s Luc, the absolute polar opposite of the Demigod. Luc is guy friend goals – he’s sweet and thoughtful and just generally marshmallowy. Yeah, he’s missing some bits (literally) but I mean who doesn’t love the underdog?

This leads me to the final dancer in the Holy Trinity of eye candy, Benjamin Desjardins. He’s the ‘older guy’ of the piece, which kind of doesn’t really say much because it's teenage girls at the centre of this story. Benjamin has it all but wants more. He has the prestige, the fame, and the constant stream of attractive women throwing themselves at him, but who doesn’t want more if they can have it? I think he was probably my favourite character out of everyone because well he’s just a bit of a jerk to be honest.

Now, if you aren’t familiar with the world of ballet, expect to be pulling out a dictionary a lot or searching YouTube for videos of various moves. The author utilises traditional ballet terminology throughout Bright Burning Stars and even throws in some extra French for good measure. I will note here though that most French used throughout is explained in English within a few words to a sentence, so don’t fear the unfamiliar!

So, this brings me to the overall narrative. It’s a typical friends to enemies (kind of) and back to friends again moment. Kate and Marine’s friendship is unbreakable for the most part, but they have a few hiccups along the way. Now I feel it is imperative at this point in the review to tell people that there are some triggering issues discussed throughout this novel. It explores teen pregnancies, suicides, and dives down the rabbit hole of eating disorders. While these may be confronting to some, Small spins the story in such a way that each is treated with the courtesy it should be afforded, never portraying any of it in a light that seems shameful to the characters involved.

When it comes to the final pages, the tale of Kate and Marine culminates in a way that pulls at the heartstrings, lifting any heavy feeling and concluding the narrative in such a way that everything feels neatly tied off. While there is potential for a second book should Small one day wish to revisit this pair of friends, it stands very well on its own. Although the character development of each of the girls felt a little clunky and vague in parts, overall their progression felt logical and natural.

[To be published June 15th on The Nerd Daily]

I remember reading the blurb of this book and thinking how interesting it was. A dead body, two best friends in a very cutthroat ballet school, a love triangle – it was like sweet nectar to a honeybee and I fell for it.
Bright Burning Stars was a letdown.
I desperately wanted to love this book, but there were just too many things in it that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Everything from the characters to the story’s pacing down to the way certain arcs were handled and resolved felt off to me. So much so that even if there were still parts of the story that I liked, I just couldn’t shake off the funny (and infuriating) feeling this book left me with.
If I were to only look at this book as solely a ballet story, Bright Burning Stars would have been a good one. Having been a former dance herself, A.K. Small was able to bring to life the drama and the competitiveness of life at a topnotch ballet school. All the best parts - parts that I loved - were contained in these short, sporadic scenes. Small’s exacting descriptions of every step and movement the dancers, especially Kate, Marine and Cyrille, made created a vivid picture in my head.
It was all downhill from there.
This was supposed to be a quick read - just 304 pages. I could have finished reading it in one sitting, yet it took me 13 days to get through the whole thing, and I put part of the blame on the wonky writing. The pacing, for me, lacked the rhythm this story called for - it slowed in the parts that needed speeding up and careened in the parts that needed more fleshing out. It totally doesn’t help that the characters - both main and secondary - were all shallowly drawn, caricatures made of shadows instead of solid lines. I couldn’t help but think just how big of a misstep this was both for the author and the story. Small, at the best moments of this book, showed great talent. She writes with a certain clarity and sharpness, and with a plot this interesting, she could have done a great deal more.

While the conclusion was satisfying enough, I just couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling this book gave me especially with the way it handled some things. I get that this was a story about toxic friendship, and that it dealt with dark, heavy topics, but it could have been handled better. Instead, all of it felt like mere plot points and not an integral part of the characters’ stories.
Overall, Bright Burning Stars could have a been a better story. Some might find something here for themselves, but for me, this just didn’t work.

I was first drawn to this book because of the gorgeous cover. It is the epitome of hauntingly beautiful. Secondly, I took dance lessons as a young girl. Ballet, jazz, point, tap, all of it. And while I was never super serious about it, I still had the dreams of maybe in another life (if I didn’t live in a tiny town in Midwest USA) I could have been a professional ballet dancer. So, I’m always drawn to ballet stories.

Bright Burning Stars is about best friends and roommates Marine & Kate. They attend a prestigious ballet boarding school in France. Everything about the school is incredibly competitive and intense. The students of each year are ranked weekly based on their performance and this causes a lot of anxiety and turmoil within the school. In their personal lives, both Marine and Kate are dealing with issues as well. Marine had a twin brother who died a few years before the story begins and she mourns his loss daily. Kate is from the US and feels like an outsider while also dealing with feelings of abandonment because her mother left her and her father alone when she was only five years old.

As the school year progresses, things only become more competitive because someone will be offered a position in the ballet corps. Marine and Kate’s friendship is tested as the rankings change and the girls find themselves in competition in a way they never have before. And of course, there is a boy who complicates things further.

I read this book very quickly because the story feels very intense. You can feel the desire of both main characters to win the Prize and how important it is to both of them for very different reasons. It explores friendships and first loves, grief and what lengths people are willing to go in order to fulfill their dreams.

Thank you so much to Algonquin Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have been inseparable since they started training together at the Paris Opera Ballet School. They forged a strong bond by their own family tragedies and their love for ballet. At the beginning of their final year, the body of a student is found. During their game of ‘Would You?’, they ask each other, ‘Would you die for the prize?’. As selection day draws closer and closer, the competition between Marine and Kate become fiercer.

Bright Burning Stars was a brilliant read about friendship and the toxicity of striving for perfection. It’s set in Paris and is about the dark underbelly of the Ballet world. Bright Burning Stars is an excellent book about the toxicity that can be found in the ballet world.

trigger warnings: sexual exploitation, teenage pregnancy, abortion, drug and alcohol abuse, anorexia, body image, self harm, suicide

Bright Burning Stars is a very character driven book. It focuses on the friendship between Marine and Kate, who are best friends but they are also rivals and they are having to compete against each other for The Prize, an prestigious opportunity to be dance for the Opera’s corps de ballet. I really enjoyed this exploration of friendship where one opportunity causes this fracture in what was a strong friendship.

Bright Burning Stars delves deeply into the toxicity of ballet and striving for perfection in such a high pressured environment, and it highlighted the unhealthy amount of sacrifice that these girls and boys make in order to be on top.

One of my favourite things about this was also the fact that we had some really great characters and character development, plus I really do love an ‘unlikeable female character’. Kate was not a character that you easily root for, or even particularly like – she was naive, insecure, codependent, and had an unhealthy level of commitment, which often turned to obsession in both ballet and her love life. She could be cruel and jealous, lashing out at those she didn’t think deserved their spot, especially when it came to her friend Marine. She tried to find solace in her substance abuse in order to try and find meaning to her life. Not a likeable character in any way, but I found her narrative riveting, especially when contrasted with Marine. Marine was softer and kinder than Kate, but she is wrapped up in her own grief that she consistently strives for perfection because it wasn’t herself she was doing it for – it was for her twin brother whose dream was to be where she is now. She wants to constantly improve her technique, improve her body to how she thinks it should look like. Both girls, I felt, had some really great development throughout the book.

Overall, Bright Burning Stars is a captivating book about friendship, passion, and sacrifice, and one I highly recommend.

I struggled with this book. I understand that the world of dance can have a lot of negative things tied to it such as eating disorders, strict competition, and even drugs. I feel like this book showed all of those things but with no redeeming qualities for any of the characters. I was uncomfortable almost the entire time I was reading this. I didn’t like the way sex was portrayed. The girls were used and didn’t seem to see anything wrong with it. It had really unhealthy relationships both romantic relationships and friendships. I felt disgusted when the drug dealer told her to take her clothes off. It was just all very uncomfortable for me. I thing it’s important to shed light on the negative parts of dance but I felt it could’ve been done in a different way.

Fast paced and exciting, Bright Burning Stars tells of the story of two best friends and their life in a ballet school. Due to the discipline of the art, they face challenges and stress that were so tough that it even affected their friendship.

The story was set in Paris which I think was perfect. Character development was on point. Plot was fast paced with lots of dynamics. I also thoroughly enjoyed the writing which gave me so much emotional feels.

Though it was placed in the YA genre, I can’t help but feel that it should be listed as New Adult. There were same parts where sex and drugs were involved. However, there were lessons to be learned from the mistakes made which I think young adults can learn from.

Being a ballet student for a little while when I was younger, I was immediately very interested in the book. I’m so glad I had a chance to read it. It covered so many different topics especially about anxiety and stress.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Algoquin Young Readers through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.