Bright Burning Stars is the tale of two prima ballerina hopefuls and their journey through their year as first class “rats” at the prestigious Nanterre Ballet Academy. Having been friends since they were in Division 6, Marine and Kate have each other’s backs regardless of their position in life and will support each other to the very end. Each after a single coveted spot with the Paris Opera, they are determined that one of them will take the crown.
The novel starts with the girls having come back from the shocking loss of one of their peers after she is found dead in her single room’s twin bed. The news has shaken up their entire division right on the eve of the commencement of their final year and the friends are determined not to let it get to them. Marine, the ever faithful friend, ranks lower in the scores than primadonna Kate, but so long as one of them wins the title, everything will be fine. Right? Wrong!
Enter the Demigod, a sweet-talking, hunk of a dancer and the love interest of, well, to be honest everyone who exists within the wall of the Nanterre Academy. When he starts to pay romantic attention to both of the girls, things start to heat up and loyalties are abandoned.
With Marine and Kate, you get what you would expect of ballerina hopefuls. They train all day and night, obsessively watch what they eat, and then generally act like teenage girls should during their spare time. As roommates since they both arrived at their prestigious school, they have developed a best friend relationship to rival all bestie relationships. They giggle and compare boys and come out altogether mostly whole by the end. It’s sweet and gets even the most blackhole-instead-of-a-heart Ice Queen to feel all the things.
In the grand scheme of all things character development though, although the girls are the centre of the narrative (now don’t throw things), the male characters were better. There’s the Demigod who is slick and stunning both in appearance and his dance style – while reading this, I could envisage all the sweettalking pas de deux partners of my younger years. His charisma and talent and machismo all bundled into one highly toned, hunk of a teenager, as would be expected of a male dancer who is so close to being a professional.
Then there’s Luc, the absolute polar opposite of the Demigod. Luc is guy friend goals – he’s sweet and thoughtful and just generally marshmallowy. Yeah, he’s missing some bits (literally) but I mean who doesn’t love the underdog?
This leads me to the final dancer in the Holy Trinity of eye candy, Benjamin Desjardins. He’s the ‘older guy’ of the piece, which kind of doesn’t really say much because it’s teenage girls at the centre of this story. Benjamin has it all but wants more. He has the prestige, the fame, and the constant stream of attractive women throwing themselves at him, but who doesn’t want more if they can have it? I think he was probably my favourite character out of everyone because well he’s just a bit of a jerk to be honest.
Now, if you aren’t familiar with the world of ballet, expect to be pulling out a dictionary a lot or searching YouTube for videos of various moves. The author utilises traditional ballet terminology throughout Bright Burning Stars and even throws in some extra French for good measure. I will note here though that most French used throughout is explained in English within a few words to a sentence, so don’t fear the unfamiliar!
So, this brings me to the overall narrative. It’s a typical friends to enemies (kind of) and back to friends again moment. Kate and Marine’s friendship is unbreakable for the most part, but they have a few hiccups along the way. Now I feel it is imperative at this point in the review to tell people that there are some triggering issues discussed throughout this novel. It explores teen pregnancies, suicides, and dives down the rabbit hole of eating disorders. While these may be confronting to some, Small spins the story in such a way that each is treated with the courtesy it should be afforded, never portraying any of it in a light that seems shameful to the characters involved.
When it comes to the final pages, the tale of Kate and Marine culminates in a way that pulls at the heartstrings, lifting any heavy feeling and concluding the narrative in such a way that everything feels neatly tied off. While there is potential for a second book should Small one day wish to revisit this pair of friends, it stands very well on its own. Although the character development of each of the girls felt a little clunky and vague in parts, overall their progression felt logical and natural.
Bright Burning Stars is available now at Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School since childhood, where they’ve formed an inseparable bond forged by respective family tragedies and a fierce love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves what they would do to win the ultimate prize: to be the one girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they die? Cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic would make them shine, too? Neither girl is sure.
But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other.
