Review: Bunheads

   

Title: Bunheads
Author: Sophie Flack

Series: None
Pages: 294

Publisher: Atom
Release Date: Released
Source: For Review
Rating: 4 stars
100 Book challenge: #22

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...

I am fascinated with ballerinas. I have so much admiration for what they do. I cannot comprehend how ballet can be so elegant and graceful yet be so gruelling and challenging. Bunheads gave a behind the scenes look at how ballet companies can be and I must say I really enjoyed discovering about it.

Flack dealt with the balance of ballet and life really really well. With anything at such a high level it can be overwhelming and take over your whole life and at 19, it much be challenging to give up everything to do this one thing. The conflict Hannah felt was conveyed really well and I really empathised with her.

I liked Jacob. He was a nice guy and he was a nice romantic protagonist but the story was about so much more than the romance. I'm not saying it wasn't well placed, important and entertaining because it was all those things. Bunheads, however, shouldn't be tagged a "romance" book. It is about self-discovery, growth and the question of how much you should give up to succeed at something.

Bunheads is a fascinating read that sheds some light on the speculations surrounding ballet. If you like contemporaries or dance I think you'd enjoy this one!