Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

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Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

This is the sequel to Tiny Pretty Things, and if you haven’t read that book, you are being warned now that this review is riddled with spoilers!

June and Gigi are in their last year at American Ballet Conservatory, while Bette has been suspended. After what happened to Gigi last school year, from the bullying to her being pushed in front of the taxi, the conservatory had no choice but to suspend Bette. Bette is still proclaiming her innocence in the accident, but the bullying cost her family a pretty penny in a settlement with Gigi’s family. Gigi feels changed. She knows she isn’t the same girl she was last year. She will not let anyone take advantage or bully her this year. And with Cassie as an ally no one does. June is fighting demons of her own, still struggling with her weight and what will come next in her career. She needs to be strong in more ways than one if she wants to continue to be a ballerina.

The competition is fierce for this sequel! The story begins with the new school year. We know exactly where each girl is at mentally and throughout the book we watch each girl change and grow as characters, constantly pushing and questioning themselves. I enjoyed the story arcs for all of the characters. Every single one of them makes mistakes and has to deal with the consequences and there is so much growth. Character development is very strong for this series as is world building. Readers feel completely submersed in the world of ballet, where everyone knows each other and everyone is competition but a few stand out and they are the ones that are targeted.

This series is dramatic and addicting. I loved the movie “Center Stage” and I feel like this book embodies that but also provides a little extra. It’s more intense, more cutthroat and more intimate. I really enjoyed both of these books. I breezed through them in no time. It’s a diverse group of characters with our main characters, being all different races. There was one moment in particular here that shined a lot on some of the prejudice in the ballet world, regarding the casting of the white swan in Swan Lake. Clayton and Charaipotra did a really great job with both of these books. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.

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