Bunheads by Sophie Flack (Young Adult)

15th March 2012, Atom
296 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Themes: realities of life as a ballet dancer, constantly seeking best figure, crazy diets, extreme jealousy, finding passion in what you do, msking hsrd decisions, mild teen romance, hanging with the wrong people, smattering of smile moments, tissues needed

Summary from Atom

As a dancer with the Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward is living her childhood dream. She gets to be up on stage in front of adoring crowds every night. And while she might not be a prima ballerina yet, she's moving up the ranks and surely if she works hard enough she can make it happen.

But devoting her whole life to ballet leaves very little time for anything else: friends, family, school have all fallen by the wayside. Hannah doesn't mind, until a chance encounter in a restaurant brings Jacob into her life. He's cute, he plays guitar and he's offering a whole future that Hannah never considered. And now she must choose between her lifelong dream or what could be the love of her life. . .

Nayuleska's thoughts

I love reading ballet books, which pushed this high up on my reading pile. I love how Hannah loves some of her ballet life. She loves the dancing itself, but not the constant behind the scenes personality battles. It takes an unpleasant event, several people with kind hearts who are in Hannah's life, and a lot of courage for Hannah to make the best decision in her life. You won't be disappointed with this 10/10 read. Except I really wanted Hannah in her red dress on the cover once I'd read. The cover used is cool.

For more about the book and Sophie, head over to her website.

Suggested read
For competitve nature and life as a girl growing up and living her dream, try Kay Woodward's skating series which starts with Skate School: Ice Princess