Sep 30, 2011

Bunheads

Bunheads by Sophie Flack follows Hannah a dancer in the Corps of the Manhattan Ballet.  Sophie's life is the ballet, she goes to rehearsal and class and performances every night and hopes to become a soloist.  When she meets a guy outside of the ballet she finds herself struggling to find the time to see him and starts questioning her priorities.  Is the life of a professional dancer really what she wants?

I loved this book.  It was a book about a dancer that was obviously written by someone with insider experience.  I really felt like I was getting a peek into the life of a dancer in a serious ballet company.  The descriptions of the dance and costumes were fantastic.  The characters and the plot are entertaining enough but it's not exactly the most original plot.  I was very happy to find that this wasn't a book about a girl who decides to give up everything for a boy, Hannah makes her own decision because of what is right for her.

Appropriateness:  Hannah is nineteen and has been living on her own since she was a young teen and acts like a nineteen year old.  There is a large amount of underage drinking and a bit of non descriptive sex.  There is a large amount of weight talk in the book, much of which is unhealthy, as the company requires the dancers to have a super slim silhouette.  While I suspect this book will be marketed as a romance the romance is only a small part of the story and readers should read this book as a look into the world of dance and not as a romance novel.  I would recommend the book to teens and adults 14+ and I'd encourage parents of younger readers to address the alcohol and diet/eating disorder issues that are present in the story.


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