Review: Ballerina: A Novel

Ballerina: A Novel by Edward Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you like ballet fiction, you may very much like this novel. It is a mixture of ballet and romance with a lot of backstabbing, snark, and frustration.

I first read this book when I was much younger, and what I saw during that first read was the romanticism, frustration, and the pity I had for one of the main characters who was ill -Chris. Now I'm older, and what I see is that Chris seems to have mental as well as physical issues, and I'm having a more difficult time judging how I feel about this book. Steph's mother is still a conniving witch and keeps trying to mold Steph into what Anna thinks she should be/do. No matter how she makes Steph feel along the way.

The ending...well, what can I say? You may find it romantic and wonderful, and I may just be a huge witch thinking that Steph was crazy!

If you choose to read this book, remember the year it was written (1979) because it is NOT a politically correct or "woke" book, and neither was that decade. So this book is historically accurate in that respect. However, I do happen to like reading about this decade and the defection of so many Russian dancers.

View all my reviews

SYNOPSIS: "Before Black Swan, there was Ballerina: Edward Stewart’s acclaimed novel that follows two young women into the cutthroat world of professional dance

Stephanie Lang and Christine Avery meet in ballet school. Although they share the same dream—to become great dancers—they could not be more different. Ballet is in Stephanie’s blood; her mother, Anna, is a former dancer who lives to see her daughter achieve the fame she herself never attained. Christine has lived a sheltered life, secure in the love of her family. But her privileged upbringing conceals a devastating secret.
Two teenage dancers, one chance to make it. From the thrill and terror of auditions through years of meticulous training to landing a coveted spot in a professional company, Stephanie and Christine relentlessly pursue their ambitions. As they give their all to dance, they become inseparable—until they are torn apart by their passion for the same man, a brilliant Russian dancer whose seductive, mercurial temperament will have unforeseen consequences for them all. "