Book Review – Shiny Broken Pieces

Title- Shiny Broken Pieces
Author- Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
Published- July 2016
Genre- YA
Length- 384 pages
Rating- 3.25/5
Synopsis (Goodreads)- June, Bette, and Gigi have given their all to dance at Manhattan’s most elite ballet school. Now they are competing one final time for a spot at the prestigious American Ballet Company. With the stakes higher than ever, these girls have everything to lose…and no one is playing nice.

June is starting to finally see herself as a prima ballerina. However, getting what she wants might cost her everything—including the only boy she’s ever loved. Legacy dancer Bette is determined to clear her name after she was suspended and accused of hurting her rival, Gigi. Even if she returns, though, will she ever regain the spotlight she craves? And Gigi is not going to let Bette—or the other dancers who bullied her—go unpunished. But as revenge consumes her, Gigi may be the one who pays the price.

After years of grueling auditions, torn ribbons, and broken hearts, it all comes down to this last dance. Who will make the cut? And who will lose her dream forever?

Review – So for those that don’t know, this is the second book in this series. I read the first one earlier in the year and quite liked it so thought I would pick this up. The first one, oddly enough (you will understand if you have read it), actually inspired me to take up adult ballet! I am, as it turns out, terrible at ballet, but I still enjoy it! I reviewed the first book here for those that are interested.

Overall I thought this book was very similar in quality to the first. It is basically just a bit of a trashy read for me. The girls are bitchy and treat each other terribly like you would expect in this kind of story. I don’t know how realistic what happens really is but the world of ballet is obviously very competitive at this level, so I wouldn’t be surprised if these schools weren’t the happiest of places.

There were no major surprises or reveals in the story as far as I am concerned but I think a couple of things were meant to come off that way. There was the usual nonsense of teenage love that always comes with YA but it isn’t overbearing like it is with some other books.

The characters are mostly the same ones as in the first book, and you learn a decent amount about their personalities. Some of them seem to have changed a bit from the first book and some people might not like that but I don’t think it really matters.

The writing is very easy, as it is a YA, the story is easy to follow and flows reasonably well. As with the first book, the story is told from multiple perspectives which, if you have read some of my previous reviews you will know I tend to really like.

If you want a light, easy, slightly trashy read that’s not too heavy on child “romance” then I would recommend this.