Such an interesting look at professional ballet. Not knowing anything about that world, I was intrigued by the passion and rigor that these dancers put into their craft. The storyline was taut and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It combined suspense with the rollercoasters of emotions that these three women experienced over decades of friendship and illuminated how difficult the life of a professional ballerina can be. Thank you for a close up look at the world of ballet!

What worked: Ballerinas. I love to learn the nitty-gritty side of ballet. And, in that regard, this book didn’t disappoint.
I also enjoy books with foreign characters. Other readers complained about the author mentioning the language sometimes. But I actually liked that she kept reminding us these characters, with a couple of exceptions, were French.
The narration following past and present until they collided wasn’t problematic for me. I really enjoy non-chronological narratives. Hard to follow? Yes? But it helps to build the mystery.
Speaking of mystery, here is what didn’t work: This book is not like Black Swan. It’s not a thriller, not even a mystery. I would classify it as Women’s Fiction. The coming-of-age story of three female friends in the world of ballet. Their friendship, what separate but also join them. Their choices, mistakes, regrets and feelings. That’s all this book is about, so…
Now we get into the nitty-gritty territory of what the author tried to accomplish with her message. Every book has a theme, a message, and the author needs to be careful in not showing too much of themselves in trying to bring that across the pages, otherwise it’ll come across as “preachy”, independently of what the message is. And that’s the main problem I had with “The Ballerinas”. There were different issues from sexual harassment to emotional abuse to abortion, and so many other things that the author tried to tackle, only to have them fall flat.
Every single men in the story is an a-hole who get away with the awful and criminal things they do. But it seemed like the author wanted to show that every men on the face of the Earth is a POS. As I said, “preachy”.
In the end, the MC literally got away with murder so the message of males getting away with their crimes against females got diluted in that melodrama. And I do like a good melodrama, but in this case it was so over-the-top I truly didn’t care about the MC’s motivation. Thinking about, maybe the MC doesn’t really have a consciousness. Look at how she treated her friends, especially Stella who was her mother-figure.
And the so-called secret? I called it Lindsay knew all along. So that was very anticlimactic and it didn’t work well as motivation for the main plot point.
All in all is a solid story. Good, but not extraordinary.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book brought me right back to my childhood and high school years. Told in two timelines it’s a character driven novel about three friends and how their friendship grows and develops as they age in the highly competitive world of ballet. I liked this book and enjoyed how accurate everything was portrayed - the competitiveness, the physical strain, the emotional stress, aging, etc. I wasn’t a fan of the ending and felt like it was rushed and didn’t like where it ended though.

If you’re a former dancer, like dance or stories of evolving friendships, then this is a book for you.

4.5 stars rounded up. The first half of this novel, while beautifully written about the beautiful dance of ballet in the beautiful city of Paris, is slow, only hinting at interesting things to come. The pace picks up significantly in the second half.

Delphine entered ballet school when she was eight years old. There, she would become lifelong friends with Margaux and Lindsey. The narrative bounces from their years in school together, very slowly and painfully working their way up to the present day, when Delphine returns to the Paris Opera Ballet, where the now-36-year-old wants to turn her career in a new direction as a choreographer. She had left thirteen years earlier for St. Petersburg, partially following a man and for other reasons that are revealed over the course of the story.

I couldn’t imagine the life of a ballerina, constantly being judged by every part of your body. We regular women often feel judged about our weight and shape, but nowhere the scrutiny someone in this field would receive. I haven’t been obsessed with dance since high school, but this novel reminded me of how much admiration I have for dancers, although I’m not the slightest bit jealous of a life in the ballet—other dance forms obviously don’t require constant indoctrination from when you’re a little kid.

The character arc of this book and the insights into female friendships are the reason I gave it 5 stars. The revelations come slowly and you have to work for them, but I appreciated both the internal conflict of the characters of both wanting to be the greatest and also hating the constant judgment about their bodies and how unless you become a principal, you’re just a faceless body with bloody feet and a hungry stomach in the background.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES DECEMBER 7.

I’m disappointed with how slow this book started because ultimately I ended up really liking it. I just feel that it could have been better paced.

The novel is told over two storylines - one starting in the late 1990s with three dancers Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay as they make their way in the elite Paris Opera Ballet. The second is more present day (2018) and focuses on Delphine as she returns to the POB as a choreographer where Margaux and Lindsay still dance. Delphine is holding on to a secret from their past that is slowly exposed through the other narrative and threatens to destroy her friendships and everything she has worked for. Additionally, more drama with other cast members and colleagues at the school also keep her in a precarious position professionally and personally.

I always love a good school setting so this book already had a major leg up in that regard. And what could be better than a super elite school full of perfect humans?! I loved the drama between the dancers at the school, the gossip, and the sordid relationships. I wanted more!!

Delphine was a selfish and self centered individual and I enjoyed the “coming of age” arc with her character. However, I had expected more to come out of the ballets Delphine was choreographing and was a little disappointed in how that all played out. I felt like the big secret was drawn out for too long and could’ve been better exposed. Ultimately it felt a little underwhelming.

The book takes a darker turn about halfway through and that’s when my interest was really piqued. I appreciate that the author was likely setting the scene and creating the image of these used and abused women, but I think if some of the ending scenes had been previewed much earlier, the pacing of the novel would have been significantly better.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

Wow I had so many mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the writing but I thought the story was a little boring. I love books about ballet but this one just didn’t really do it for me.

The Ballerinas is a story of three friends who grew up together at the Paris Opera Company Ballet - and ended up having pretty messed up lives. It was interesting to see the "real life" of a professional ballerina - the incredible competition, physical strain on the body, and the many personal sacrifices required. The average career of a star ballerina, if you make it that far, is incredibly short and there are always youthful members of the company looking to take your place.
This for me was sort of a "Desperate Housewives" of ballet - lots of drama, lots of disfunction, and lots of secrets. These three women were all so self absorbed it is difficult to see how any real friendships are formed. As in many other career paths, many women are abused by the few males in the profession. I think one of the problems for me is I could not stand the main character, Delphine - she had to be one of the most selfish women I've ever read about - the ending did not redeem her in my eyes, and as in many thrillers, was a bit far fetched. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

There is a lot going on here and, somehow, more or less, it all works. This mainly has to do with Kapelke-Dale's skillful pacing: she moves us swiftly from scene to scene (though not so swiftly it feels breakneck) and never lingers overlong on any particular moment or crisis. The writing itself walks that same line: it's tight, without too many flourishes, but still with enough description that you don't feel like you blitzed through a colorless story. The characters are also well done, complex and vividly composed, and if it's hard to root for Delphine, the narrator, that's mainly because of how real she seems.

If I have any complaints, it's that there are a few moments, particularly near the end, where the writing does tend to bleed into grandstanding and melodrama. There is an occasion or two where that works, but just as often where it doesn't. That said, it's not so bad that I would hesitate to recommend this book. It's engaging and fascinating, and a must read for anyone who's even remotely interested in ballet.

I loved this book about female friendship, and it was the first book that I had ever read about ballet!

The top three girls in their class at the Paris Opera Ballet School are fast friends, sharing a passion for dance and ambition to succeed. How does friendship balance out against ambition? What price might one pay to succeed?
These questions are an integral part of the story of these three ballerinas. We flip between time periods - their adolescent years and over a decade later when one returns as choreographer for the Paris Opera Ballet. There are insights into the world of ballet and into the "subjugation" of women and their bodies, in that world. There is plenty for a book group to discuss in this book.

This review is of an advanced reader copy provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a delicious swoon of a book. It’s not a mystery though there are some (very) low level crimes involved, but it’s mostly a story about ballet, female friendship, and the efforts women make to be heard and acknowledged in their lives, professional and personal. The central character is Delphine Legere, and as the book opens, she’s a young student at the Paris Opera Ballet (POB), an elite dance training school. Delphine and her best friend, the tempestuous Margaux, are challenged by the arrival of the beautiful American student, Lindsay.

As the three grow together, advancing up into the corps de ballet and beyond, Kapelke-Dale focuses on the hard work and pure ambition it takes to form a ballerina. While the outer layer of the ballerina is beautiful, soft, and (in general) pink, the hard-working interior is another story. The girls work their bodies to within an inch of their lives, always striving to be better – to be perfect.

Delphine’s mother is a genuinely famous ballet star – her rank is the highest at the Opera, Etoile. As a mother she’s remote and aloof, and her main message to her daughter, other than to be a perfect ballerina, is never to get pregnant.

Of course, as the girls grow, life and the different limits of their talents intervene. There are boys. There are the ambitions to make it beyond the corps – to become a principal. While Margaux and Lindsay advance slowly within the Opera hierarchy, Delphine chooses a different route: choreography. She ends up in Russia with a domineering boyfriend and a shakily advancing career as a choreographer at the iconic Mariinsky theater.
While she’s left Paris apparently on purpose, the main thrust of the book happens as Delphine returns as a choreographer, staging a ballet she’s calling Tsarina, about the last Empress of Russia’s relationship with Rasputin. As she returns to reunite with her old friends, it’s clear there’s something not quite right. There’s an incident referred to and not revealed until late in the book that shaped all three women.

As Delphine gets to work with Lindsay, who she’s chosen as the star, she’s sees Lindsay is all wrong for the part. Margaux has become bitter, a working alcoholic in the ballet ranks. The there of them have many things to work through. All of them are in their mid thirties, a time when their bodies as dancers are beginning to give out (retirement is mandatory at 42), and a time when they are assessing their life choices and the things they’ve been and done to one another.

This is certainly a ballet story – I loved all the dance details, from choreography to the brutality of toe shoes – but it’s primarily a story where three women learn to speak up for themselves and figure out what they truly desire from life. It’s a blast of a book especially if you’re a dance fan.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rachel Kapelke-Dale for an ARC of this book!**

"When one lifts a ballerina, it is not her weight but her nature that causes the problem."-Maris Liepa

This book of ballerinas and friendship had me pirouetting, indeed....but like an inexperienced ballerina, all of this spinning without proper spotting left me more than a bit dizzy!

Delphine, Margeaux and Lindsay: You could call them the three Musketeers, the Three Amigos---but first and foremost, they are the three cutthroat competitors who will stop at nothing to make their dancing aspirations come true ever since their early dancing days. Delphine knows this best of the three, as she left her hard-earned position as soloist at the Paris Opera Ballet (POB) to become a choreographer, and now has the opportunity to return several years later and choreograph HER piece, HER way. What she brings back with her, however, are secrets tangled in the three's cumulative past that could bring their ambitions crashing down faster than the chandelier at the Opera Populaire. Delphine's former-and-somewhat-still-current crush Jock (aka Jacques) pops up to stir up old emotions, and Delphine is challenged by the director of the POB to cast someone other than Lindsay in the starring role. Delphine is hesitant to do this, though, since she feels she OWES it to Lindsay...but why? Can these friendships stand not only the test of time, but the trials life has handed each woman during their time apart...and will Delphine's triumphant return as choreographer extraordinaire lift ALL of the women up...or will a series of unexpected turns leave these three women fighting one another and fighting for their own survival?

The Ballerinas is in many ways being marketed as a thriller, in the vein of Black Swan, where two battling prima donnas will stop at nothing to be the star of Swan Lake. However, this story has very little in common with that film, other than ballet itself and some discussion of career aspirations throughout. This is NOT a thriller. The only 'thrilling' event occurs at about 90% (yes, really) so if you're looking for the mind-bending twists and "did that just happen' thrills and chills of that film and its crazy protagonist, you won't find that here. This is at best a domestic drama, but the thrilling event in question seemed to be tossed in just to break up the narrative a bit.

So what IS the Ballerinas, you might ask?

A feminist treatise of sorts, an exploration of the 'dark' side of ambition in the ballet world, and above all else, a case study on what happens when three toxic women attempt to keep a friendship alive without ACTUALLY being there for one another. Kapelke-Dale had a clear message in mind with this one, and frankly, the narrative turns from the perspectives of the three women to the men in their lives just to demonstrate how terrible they are as people. There are touches of #MeToo type sensibilities thrown in here, implications that a man has the power to break a woman's career with one simple action, and discussions of alcohol abuse and mommy issues to round out the plethora of problems. All of this might have come together as cohesive character building if it had been presented in a different sense, but on top of all of these ideas, this narrative bounces around like a pogo stick, from the past to the present and back again. I always struggle with timelines like this, especially if we are thrown back in time 8 years, then 7 years and 11 months, then 7 years and 2 months, etc.

At the end of the day, there was far too much content here to feel cohesive and I felt so frustrated with some of these structural issues that the message got a bit too muddled for me. Kapelke Dale also reminded the reader EVERY time someone was speaking French, or English, or Russian and made a huge point of it. Perhaps this is due to the fact that she is actually living as an American in France now, but honestly, I don't think any instance of this made a difference to the narrative. America was also painted as a bit glamorous at times (with its 'fancy' Bobbi Brown and CoverGirl makeup) and I didn't really get that either, since France is often painted as the fashion capital of the world
,
Kapelke-Dale's main theme, about the autonomy (or lack thereof) that women have over their own bodies, is really the focus here, and the sorts of questions she raises could probably have been their own book: "Why is it that trauma is written so easily on women's bodies? It's so readable if you know how to look.." As much as I appreciate the exploration of some of these themes, this COULD have been a cohesive read that made me want to dance...but I think I might have to sit this one out. 3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this novel about women's friendships and travails in the Parisian ballet world. The main characters are sympathetic but complex, and the story kept me interested. I learned a great deal about the world of ballet, which I found fascinating. The book is a tad slow, but that's a minor criticism. as I did devour it in two days. Definitely would recommend!

Dark, character driven novel set in the world of ballet, specifically the Paris Opera Ballet (POB). The novel follows the friendships of 3 women, Delphine, Lindsay, and Margaux, from their time as kids/teens in the POB school to the present. The narrative does go back and forth in time, allowing the secret to be kept, but also acknowledging how it affected their friendship.

This novel starts out and you think it will be mostly about 3 women in the world of ballet, and their twisted friendships and secrets. But then it becomes SO much more. It's a (subtle and enjoyable to read) commentary on misogyny; the female body, it's appearance and the strive towards perfection; female friendships and jealousies; and the rage most women are holding inside about all of this and more.

"Fourteen years ago, Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she's been away...and some secrets can't stay buried forever.

Moving between the trio's adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won't see coming, with magnetic characters you won't soon forget."

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Ballerinas, a story of Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay, who meet as young students boarding at the Paris Opera Ballet School and their experiences as both close friends and competitors for recognition and promotion in one of the most famous ballet training programs in the world. It spans their teenage and early adult lives as they diverge and renew their friendships , each with their own challenges and needs to redefine themselves.

I felt the story evolved beautifully and loved the relationships that were developed, rich with texture and emotion. Unfortunately, over the course of the book, it refocused too much on the "Me Too" moments and the impact of the male gaze on female ballet dancers, The friendship, which was beautifully and tragically depicted came to represent a female form of resistance against male perspectives on ballet dancers and by extension on women's bodies in general.. I feel that this took so much away from the beautiful complex friendship and turned it into more of a trope for the "Me Too" movement that the a book which held my interest for the first half left me disappointed by the end.

The Ballerinas is a beautifully written novel about the complexities of female friendships. It follows three friends, Delphine, Margaux and Lindsay, who meet as children when they were chosen to attend a prestigious ballet school in Paris. It's told from Delphine's perspective, switching back and forth from the past to the present. I enjoyed learning about the world of ballet. Great characters that are so fully developed you feel like you really get to know them. Heartbreaking and magnificent all at once! This was simply amazing!

A riveting peek behind the curtain (no pun intended) into the life of professional ballet dancers in Paris. I really enjoyed the detail of this book, as well as the drama that surrounds a dance company.

Readers of The Ballerinas will definitely recognize some parallel themes to Black Swan. The story is told by Delphine, a young woman who, along with her fellow French classmate Margaux and new student Lindsay, strive to ultimately be principals in the premiere ballet school of Paris Opera Ballet School (POB). Delphine ends up following Dmitri, a choreographer, to St. Petersburg and becoming a choreographer herself. When the relationship ends she jumps on the opportunity to return to Paris and be reunited with her best friends, but life has happened in the thirteen years she’s been away, and her relationships with Margaux and Lindsay have fractured.

I enjoyed learning about the art of ballet throughout the reading of this novel. It was evident the author did a fantastic job researching the issues surrounding the ballet discipline. I loved how the author explored the relationship of these three friends, including all the inevitable drama that a long friendship can bring. The first half of the book was a character study of each of these women and the struggles they face throughout their careers and their personal lives. This slowly builds to an interesting, quicker-moving last half. There was a lot happening in this story and I found it difficult to keep up with at times. The dual timelines were sometime confusing. There were a lot of issues being dealt with including the power of males in the ballet world, body image, feminism and infertility. I was interested in the friendship of these three women most of all and how they would overcome the secrets they were keeping from each other.

While the first half moved slowly, I was glad I stuck with it for the conclusion. Based on the jacket description, I was sure this would be a fast-paced thriller, but that is not the case. This fascinating inside view of the ballet world is more about interpersonal relationships with employers, friends and family than a suspenseful thriller. The plot is driven by the relentless ballet company, making impossible physical demands on young men and women and the ambitions of three ballerinas determined to be the best in the world. The vivid descriptions make every character come alive, flaws and all. The heartbreaking disappointments and betrayals make the book interesting, with a special awful twist that you don't see coming.

The author also uses the story as an exploration of control, both of the rigid standards within the world of ballet as well as the control of men over women. She personifies ballerinas as real women, with real problems and desires for career advancement that are just as capable of being angry at the expectations placed upon as any other woman, despite projecting a delicate, beautiful and sometimes vulnerable appearance on stage. It is interesting that the women in many ways were incredibly independent and yet constrained by people that viewed them as pretty objects to possess and incapable of knowing their own wants and desires.

i love ballet books and enjoy when it turns darker like Black Swan, this was a really well done story about the ballet and it's danger. It was a wonderfully done mystery and I enjoyed reading this book.

WOW I haven't had this much fun since Bunheads, Break It or Make It, and Gilmore Girls!! This one is totally up my alley. This gives you a wonderful look at ballerinas and everything they go through. I couldn't put it down.