Publisher : Algonquin Young Readers; Reprint edition (March 2, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1643750305
*NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK*
Would you die for the Prize?
Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained since childhood at the Paris Opera Ballet School, where they’ve forged an inseparable bond through shared stories of family tragedies and a powerful 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 how far they would go for the ultimate prize: to be named the one girl who will join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic will make them shine, too? Would they risk death for it? 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.
Bright Burning Stars is 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.
“A.K. Small’s debut novel, Bright Burning Stars, is basically YA catnip…Small’s attention to detail — the minutiae of Marine and Kate’s lives in the academy — is beautifully written, and both the propulsion of the drama between Marine and Kate and their own demons make this book compulsively readable. Small only leaves you wanting more from her ballet focused world.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“Cutthroat ballerinas duking it out really never gets old.”
—Cosmopolitan
“Debut author Small, herself a dancer, brings authenticity (fascinating day-to-day details abound) to what it takes to flourish or wither amid the soaring highs and crushing lows of a competitive dance school while sensitively exploring the girls' many emotional and physical extremes... Addictive, angst-y, and heartfelt.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Small, a trained ballerina, infuses her novel with dance terminology and French phrases, giving the reader a sense of the milieu. And while much of the focus of this novel is dance, the heart of the story is about the lengths one will go to realize a dream.”
—Publishers Weekly
“With prose that is otherworldly at times, Small captures the disintegration of a friendship within a high-pressure world. A cerebral debut that will appeal to readers—and there are more than a few—interested in the cutthroat ballet universe”
—Booklist
“A fascinating and dramatic view of the world of young ballet dancers.”
—Pittsburgh City Paper
“This is a story filled with interesting plot twists sure to maintain a high level of interest for readers.”
—School Library Journal
MY REVIEW:
I just love the setting of this amazing and propulsive read set at the Paris Opera Ballet School where the competition is fierce and even deadly. I just adored this story and I just knew it was written by a dancer herself. Small truly captured not only the story within the dance world and the high stakes competition, but also a story about friendships, pushing yourself in your own craft and realizing your dreams.
In this deftly plotted story, the emotions and the angstiness of the story is truly visceral and leaps off the pages.
I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it not only for young readers but those that enjoy reading about the cutthroat world of dance.
About the Author
A. K. Small was born in Paris, France. At five years old, she began studying classical dance with the legendary Max Bozzoni, then later with Daniel Franck and Monique Arabian at the famous Académie Chaptal. At thirteen, she moved to the United States, where she danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet for one summer and with the Richmond Ballet Student Company for several years. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has an MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, her puppy, and her three daughters, and practices yoga. Bright Burning Stars is her first novel.
Bright Burning Stars
By A.K. Small
Algonquin Young Readers
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Paperback / 304 pages / $10.95
algonquinyoungreaders.com
No comments:
Post a Comment