Sunday, May 27, 2012

Review: Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Title: Bunheads

Author: Sophie Flack
Published October 10th 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Goodreads | Amazon
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I devoured this book like you have no idea. I’ve always been kind of amazed by ballerinas, their dedication and discipline is something I respect and applaud. But I know there’s a dark side to it, even if from the audience all you can see is the brightest, most wonderful kind of light you can see through an art performance.

Bunheads it’s all about the bright and the dark side of ballet, it’s about maturing and about relationships and compromise and priorities. Hannah Ward is the main character, a corps ballet dancer, not a soloist, not a ballerina. She’s been doing ballet since she was eight, and she became part of the Manhattan Ballet Academy when she was only 14, she had to move to NYC alone and she was determined to become a soloist. Hannah is definitely talented, and oh so dedicated, but in the cut-throat world of ballet, that’s never enough.

Example: Hannah’s chest develops…

Ordinary girls = thrilled; ballerinas = nightmare.

Is it her fault = no; do her teachers care that it isn’t = no.

She is expected to take care of it somehow, because any kind of fat in a ballerina’s body is simply not acceptable.

You guys, I suspected things like that happened to ballerinas, but Jeez it blows my mind… the things this girls go through, it’s like they are part of the army of something. No matter how perfect Hannah’s life seems from the outside, inside everything’s falling to pieces. I love the realness of this book, I love the relationships between Hannah and her three closest friends. I especially like her frenemy, Zoey. I love the tiny bit of romance this book has, Jacob the adorable musician/ NYU student. I pretty much love everything about it.


I love this picture so much


Now this picture reminds me of Hannah because that ballerina looks like a rebel. And Hannah, intentionally or not, is kind of a rebel. She has attitude and she has guts and she doesn’t care if you are the son of the company’s owner.

So basically, this book is about the journey of a dancer, how someone can be so passionate about something, working so hard for something, that they never realize they’ve stopped enjoying it. It’s about having the guts to walk out (or stay in). I admire Hannah’s courage to do what her heart told her even though she was so scared.

I wish I could write an amazing review for the amazingness this book is, but I can’t. So I’d settle for: get this book. Seriously, contemporary fans will love it and ballet fans (like me) will probably obsess with it for a long long time.



8 comments:

  1. I really loved the inside look at the world of ballet presented by this book-SO juicy for someone who now kind of wishes she had tried ballet when younger.

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    1. right?! Too bad I was pudgy and short, but now that I'm 5'11, I'm too old and too busy AND TOO SCARED! ;)

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  2. I've always been fascinated with ballerinas too! I've watch a couple documentaries about it, and the lifestyle is CRAZY. I'm definitely looking forward to this book. Thanks for the awesome review!
    Book Light Graveyard

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    1. Yeah, I've seen a couple too, but you know books are always more... hmm magical? I don't know, it's especially captivating because she's so young (19) and relatable

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  3. Omg that picture is so cool! And the cover for this book freaks me out!! haha. I've heard great things about it though I've been meaning to give it a try. It sounds very realistic as well which is a must for contemps for me to like it. Great review, Melannie!

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    1. omg I love the cover! it's so cute (and okay, a bit weird) but mostly it looks amazing! I want it as a poster or something <3

      And yeah, give it a try, it's a real nice example of fine older YA contemps :)

      Thanks, Giselle ;)

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  4. I loved this book, too! Her life exhausted me and I kept cheering for Jacob. Definitely swoon worthy!

    That picture is made of awesome! I am going to have to share it with a couple of friends who work at a ballet school. They'll love it!

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    1. Yes! I felt bad for Jacob during most of the book, Hannah just didn't pay him enough attention, but it was all good at the end ;)

      I love that pic, it's so inspiring and awesome <3

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