I did not get this book. I thought I would like it because I took ballet when I was younger so I was hyped to read a book about ballet but this storylI did not get this book. I thought I would like it because I took ballet when I was younger so I was hyped to read a book about ballet but this storyline was just weird and I kept waiting for the plot to show up. I almost put this book down several times but ended up keeping reading in the hopes that something in the book would grab my attention but it never did.
This book was just so boring. There’s no plot. It’s just endless repetition of ballet classes and how the students picked to play Clara and the Nutcracker are getting picked on. And then how the contractor is taking his time with the repairs and it keeps costing more money. Honestly, it's like when someone is telling you a story that just drags on and you are thinking, get to the point, but they never do.
There was so much repetition in this book. I found the constant descriptions of how thin the ballerinas are and what their bodies and feet look like to be very uncomfortable. How many times do we have to read about how gnarled their feet are? There is a constant telling of how the studio smells like must and bandaids and skin. There are lots of mentions of the boys' Adam's apples. I can't tell you how many times that author described Marie's face as fox-like. I mean, we get it - she is sly is cunning.
The contractor just seems to be this evil villain who says all the cliche lines. I kept expecting him to twirl his imaginary mustache at some point. Even I could see that he was just there to rip them off and keep charging them more money for “necessary” repairs.
This novel asks an interesting question - would you save one person or hundreds? I"m not sure what I would have done in Mina's place, where a family mThis novel asks an interesting question - would you save one person or hundreds? I"m not sure what I would have done in Mina's place, where a family member was threatened, and I really liked how the author laid out this dilemma.
The story is told in alternating viewpoints of Mina and her husband, Adam, as the night goes on and the plane gets closer to Sydney. Adam is at home with their daughter and neither Adam nor Mina knows what's happening with the other. There is a lot of suspense both on the airplane and back in London. Sprinkled in between the dual storylines are little snips of some of the passengers. We get to know what they are thinking and why they are on board the flight. I was really glad I read this book in physical form as I kept flipping back and forth when a new passenger was introduced to read their snippet.
Additionally, there was a secondary story about Adam having a secret that I didn't really think the book needed. I would have been fine if that whole plotline had been left out. In fact, I didn't really care much about Adam's storyline but that might be because I didn't care much for his character....more
