"Bunheads"

Written by:  Sophie Flack

Picture from:  www.4dancers.org

"Bunhead" is a slang term for an extremely dedicated ballerina. A bunhead lives for ballet. They've dedicated their live to their art. Bunheads by Sophie Flack is a work of fiction based on Flack's own life as a professional ballerina. The book details the life 19-year-old Hannah Ward, a dancer with the Manhattan Ballet Company. In the company, you live or die by Otto's (the company director) cast list. The cast list details the ballet each dancer will be performing and the level of dancer he or she is (principal, soloist, demi-soloist, corps, or apprentice). Hannah has dreamed for years of becoming a soloist and decides to do whatever it takes. Then, Hannah meets Jacob, a pedestrian (the ballerinas' term for someone not involved in the ballet world), and she becomes conflicted between wanting to spend time with Jacob and the need to spend that time perfecting herself for the ballet world. Soon, changes in the cast list for the ballets cause Hannah to realize that she needs to make changes. All of this leads up to a shocking resolution.

My rating:  8.5/10. Flack's novel is well-written; however, I found myself looking for more details. Flack doesn't elaborate on what the different types of positions are (principal, soloist, etc.). But, I was pleasantly surprised by the inside look into the life of a professional ballerina. A wonderful debut novel by Flack.

When I first started reading Bunheads, I was under the impression that it was the basis of the TV show of the same name. After reading it, I realized that I was mistaken. Flack's novel is entirely different from the TV show. They are both wonderful insights into the ballet lifestyle though.

-Louise