Sobre furos no plot: Não faz sentido Victoria não ter falado logo quem deu o sapato para ela. Não faz sentido a pessoa que ataca a protagonista ter sido violenta daquele jeito no banheiro e com uma faca na mão ter feito apenas um cortezinho no rosto dela. Não faz sentido Teddy ter ficado tanto tempo dançando, mesmo depois do diagnóstico, porque a direção não se importou? Porque o pai dele não avisou a direção? Mesmo que tenha o caso dele ter sido negligenciado, o pai estava presente e nem queria que ele voltasse.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital ARC in exchange for my review.
I had several problems with this book, the review is going to be huge, there's no way around it.
For starters: I got this book at Netgalley, there is a synopsis available that I was interested in. When I had already been approved by the publisher and I had already started reading the book, I went on the reading networks to make progress and found that depending on the edition you access there are different synopses! The overall synopsis was my first problem with the book. First because if I had accessed the synopsis that was not on Netgalley I would never have requested this book, is it clear in this that the author is going to create some kind of "non-love" triangle? Because the characters are aces, but I would never have taken the risk. And yes, there is a feeling of a triangle throughout the book, it's not boring as usual in allos books but it still has the pressure of romanticism and such. According to that in the original synopsis, to imply that the protagonist's focus is to break the barriers of the "romantic" and achieve her career as aroace. But for starters, not that it's a problem in general, nor that it needs to be to achieve what you understand in the synopsis, but still: She is not assumed to be aroace, and as I said she doesn't need to be, there is nothing wrong about that and she wouldn't even need to dream of being the first aroace of the academy. The case is, which is very recurrent in the book in general, she has no way of knowing if she is the only aroace dancer in the company, and the most irritating thing: at no time does she think strongly, or take it as a motto for her career, she just wants to get in the company, she never stopped in the book and said "I want to break boundaries, I want to be an aroace ballerina who dances in a romantic company" you know? There are still some differences in what is happening in the book, which I believe was a mistake in these editing changes, here at the beginning of the book she says (practically in the same paragraph) how she doesn't want to get involved with anyone, how she never felt the need to connect and such and in the other, he says that he always dreamed of having the connection he feels when he is dancing in the ballet, anyway...
Another problem I had, which I take the blame for myself, is the following: When I read the synopsis it made me think they wouldn't be teenagers. It makes me uncomfortable because I don't want to be the person who picks up teenagers' books as teenagers and keeps downplaying what they're feeling. But, anyway, they are people who should have a maturity, they basically live alone, the whole focus is on their career so it's very difficult during the book to put up with some actions, some decisions and such. And then within that there are several other points, like she can't make a practical decision, people are in the hospital and all she does is text? As she never stops to help the people around her, and yes she is going through a lot but the many times she wonders if she should do something being that they are very serious things is absurd.
Another issue is these very serious things, in several moments of the book I didn't feel that all the problems were there to be well developed. This bothered me a lot, even more so as there were some actions (mentioned) from the school and how it wasn't really addressed as it should have been.
On the question of the deductions that the characters make, which I mentioned above: This happens throughout the book, from her not knowing if there are other people aroaces to totally unnecessary scenes where she makes conclusions that don't make any sense. The scenes when the attacks against her begin, every interaction she has is full of ridiculous questions, with inane conclusions. And they're horrible because she doesn't even act on it yet, she just stays in this monologue.
It even weighs more because at the beginning of the book she makes it clear how she's not close to her roommates and then out of nowhere she's doing these readings about them as if they were super close.
About the ballet itself: I didn't feel anything. The first few chapters I almost pulled my hair out from reading "pas de deux" and then there are a lot of rehearsals because they say there are LOTS of rehearsals.
All three characters have voiceovers, so these issues are split between the three. Which is when it becomes obvious that it's not your problem with such a character, it's really the author's writing and development.
I didn't like the plot either. I can't believe it, because from what I understood this was what was happening, that people who are already professional dancers, who are going to work side by side, would stop to join a little group and be a version of mean girls with the newbies at work? I'm not saying there won't be rivalries and etc but it's something else entirely.
I didn't like how it already has a feeling of little ballet, and yet the three characters don't even dance by themselves, it's always by someone else. Not even Teddy, who risks his health for the ballet, doesn't pass that depth.
I read the author's notes and she is also aroace and said she consulted sensitive readers but I didn't like how asexuality was reduced to liking or not liking sex. I think the acephobia scenes and Teddy's arophobia were a point that I didn't like either, regardless of the fact that she tried to make him not be well and such, I don't think it fits. So much because he really wants a queerplatonic relationship, anyway...
SPOILERS !!!!!!!!
About plot holes: It doesn't make sense that Victoria didn't immediately say who gave her the shoe. It doesn't make sense for the person who attacks the protagonist to have been violent like that in the bathroom and with a knife in her hand to have just cut her face. Doesn't it make sense for Teddy to have been dancing so long, even after his diagnosis, because the management didn't care? Why didn't his father notify the direction? Even though there is the case that he was neglected, the father was present and didn't even want him to come back.
Those final scenes of Teddy were horrible, both the acephobia he unleashed and the final one, it was gratuitous and pointless. The protagonist's mother too, throughout the book she acts in a way, then at the end she changes out of nowhere? Even more so since before he hinted that it was something much more serious than just mourning.
I won't be going back to read more of the series. I don't think it's going to get any better, I don't think there's any way to bring depth to the characters. I think just bringing more bullying with adult and professional people doesn't add anything....more
it's a new thing, but I like very much of investigations and mysterious so I like very much it's here.
The write is so nice! It's so clear who is speakit's a new thing, but I like very much of investigations and mysterious so I like very much it's here.
The write is so nice! It's so clear who is speaking with us because the characters are so different and with perspective with so much peculiarities I don't know if some things that I feel incomplete will be explained ou something, but I don't understand what exactly Nathan has recused to say, like he was clearly surprised too, so what was that before? I don't get it
I like to suspect and create theories and everything and here we don't get a chance to this,it's not possible say "it's you!" if the killer it's not present...
And that think with Jae and the killer... and the nameless guy... Jae and the killer I hope its have a really good explanation how the killer knew that think and etc and the nameless guy I think he will return...
I like it! So much representation I hope we get to know the other's characters well too!...more
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