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.

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Does age matter when reading?

Does your age matter when you are reading? Now by that I don’t mean should you only read at certain ages, I mean does how old you are have an impact on your enjoyment of reading particular books? Of course, adults aren’t going to love books meant for toddlers, but I’m talking about “proper” books.

Most books have a target audience, at least in terms of age, so if a book is aimed at people older or younger than you does that mean you wont enjoy it? Personally, I usually don’t like YA or “new adult” and of course I am not the target audience there. How about classics? They are forced on most kids at some point during school and “average” kids often don’t like them. Why? My guess would be the language. Usually it is more difficult than with modern books so can be an effort to get through to get to the actual story. When people go back to read classics as adults however, those same people often enjoy them. Why? By that stage they have been exposed to language a lot more so perhaps they just automatically find the language easier to understand and can focus on the story? So, that would suggest age really does matter.