Tiny Pretty Things (Tiny Pretty Things, #1) by Sona Charaipotra

"The moment you think you’re on top is the moment you lost your passion."

I read this book as part of my Popsugar Reading Challenge. The challenge this time was to read a book by two authors. 

This book was fun to read and although it was over the top dramatic at times, it didn’t bother me too much so I give this three stars. 

I loved reading about the mean girls found at the center of this book and the ways they tried to stay on top. This is probably not a realistic portrayal of life at a ballet school, but I lived for the drama. 

There was backstabbing and privilege and threats and bullying. As I mentioned this is probably too over the top to be an accurate representation of ballet school, but it did give a glimpse into the hard work that goes into ballet as well as the pressure they feel to keep their body looking a certain way.

I enjoyed that the story is told in the first person by three different characters. 

*Bette is blonde and thin and the perfect ballerina in every way, but she also lives in the shadow of her sister who became a professional at the age of fifteen. 

*Gigi is the newest student to the New York school adjusting to the differences between there and California and as the only black student at the school she has a lot to prove although she’s currently the best dancer enrolled. 

*June is half-Korean, battling an eating disorder and fighting to prove to her mother that she deserves to stay at the school. 

The book’s main plot points come from different pressures the dancers are experiencing and how that affects how they treat themselves and others. 

The book is easy and quick to read. The chapters are short and sometimes this is problematic because after a major event we cut to a different point in time sometimes without fully exploring what happened. Some things feel unnecessarily rushed and many things are left unresolved with the hope being that everything is answered in the sequel. 

Overall I enjoyed the book. The ending especially leaves the reader with more questions than answers. . The second book is out for anyone who wants to read the books back to back. I felt so unsatisfied with all the new questions brought up that I chose to look at spoilers instead. Patience has never been my strong suit and that ending left me with too much energy to wait. I don’t necessarily hate books that end with a cliffhanger, but most do not leave you with that many questions left unanswered.

I want to read the second book, but I’ll see what happens. I was intrigued by the ballet aspects of the book and I wish the sequel focused more on that because while I loved the drama, I do think drama added for drama’s sake can be overwhelming. 

I also should note that the pictures are not affiliated with the book at all, but my reviews with pictures get more views and ballerinas are beautiful.