Review: Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton

Author (s): Sona Charaipotra &  Dhonielle Clayton
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: July 12, 2016

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
Shiny Broken Pieces is the second book in the Tiny Pretty Things series. After having read the first book and highly enjoying it, I had the barre (he he) set pretty high for the second book in the series. 

Now although I enjoyed this sequel, I wish more focus had been on the school rebranding itself after the terrible events of the first book and less on the dancers still behaving badly. In some ways I expected more but was left with less. 

One of the things I didn't really enjoy was the fact none of the characters learned their lessons after the events in the first book. The back stabbing, the treachery, the slut shaming, it is still all there. I get that some people will never change and yes, the stakes are higher being that now the dancers are fighting for spots but really? Not one of them could see that all the infighting had caused more harm than good. This especially holds true for Gigi whom received much of the brutality the first go round. 

Another thing that quite bothered me was the ending. I will not give it away but one of the dancers who made it through to the company really shouldn't have despite being one of the elite. I think the better story would have been her failing at becoming a company dancer (for now) and then redeeming herself later. This holds true especially because She did some pretty horrible things as well and should not have been rewarded in the end while the other villain took the fall and yes, I do believe she became a villain this go round. 

Lastly, I really wanted Junes plot to be more developed. We learn some pretty interesting details about her in the first book and yet they are still kept secret in book two. I would of loved to see the whole situation unravel and the lies exposed finally. The ramifications would have been great to witness not just from the school but the other dancers as well. 

Overall,  I liked Shiny Broken Pieces. Like the previous book it was a solidly written story and the character development was good. Bette and June were still my favorite dancers and it was nice to see that the story continued right where it left off. I however  wish more focus had been on the dancing and less on the back stabbing. Maybe if the Authors do decide on a 3rd book I'll get the resolution I crave for these dancers and this story. 

With that being said, I'll be rating Shiny Broken Pieces by  Sona Charaipotra &  Dhonielle Clayton ★★★.
                                   
 *Copy reviewed provided by publisher.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in an which way  for providing them.

Want to learn more about this book or Author (s)? Click the links below!
Sona Charaipotra is an entertainment and lifestyle journalist published by major media from the New York Times to TeenVogue. Sona received her MFA in Writing for Children from the New School. Thanks to a Masters in screenwriting from New York University (where her thesis project was developed for the screen by MTV Films), Sona is a strong believer that three-act structure can work in fiction, too. She is the co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book development company with a decidedly diverse bent.

Follow Her on: Twitter - Goodreads - SonaCharaipotra.com



Dhonielle Clayton was born in the suburbs of Washington, DC and spent her childhood Saturdays at the comic book store with her father and most evenings hiding beneath her grandmother’s dining room table with a stack of books. She earned a BA in English at Wake Forest University. She was an English teacher for three years and worked with educational curriculum. Being surrounded by children, Dhonielle re-discovered her love of children’s literature and earned a masters in children’s and young adult literature from Hollins University. Currently, she is working on both middle grade and young adult novel projects. She moved to NYC where she earned her MFA at the New School's MFA Program

Follow Her on: Twitter - Goodreads - cakeliterary.com/

Comments

  1. Hmm, I don't think this series is for me - but I enjoyed your review!
    Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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