Review Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Title: Bunheads

Author: Sophie Flack

Published: March 1st, 2012 (Atom)

Pages: 294
Source: bought

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: As a dancer with the Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward is living her childhood dream. She gets to be up on stage in front of adoring crowds every night. And while she might not be a prima ballerina yet, she's moving up the ranks and surely if she works hard enough she can make it happen.

But devoting her whole life to ballet leaves very little time for anything else: friends, family, school have all fallen by the wayside. Hannah doesn't mind, until a chance encounter in a restaurant brings Jacob into her life. He's cute, he plays guitar and he's offering a whole future that Hannah never considered. And now she must choose between her lifelong dream or what could be the love of her life...

Some of you might know that my second passion is dancing. Contemporary is my favorite, but classical ballet is my second choice. Books about dancing are special to me and I absolutely love them! There are way too many! 

But luckily there is Bunheads. An amazing book about Hannah Ward and her choice between dancing or a life outside the company. 

I've read some other books with a dancer as main character, e.g. Dancing for Degas. But often I got the feeling it was all a bit fake. I'm not a professional dancer, but I can't imagine that all dancers never eat and only dance. That's the first praise for Bunheads. The whole story felt real. Not surprising since Sophie Flack was a professional dancer herself. 

The second praise goes to the character building. That was so good! In the beginning of the story we meet Hannah, she wants to become a prima ballerina in her company and she can't imagine ever wanting anything else. Than she meets Jacobs, a musician, and he's the reason she starts doubting her decisions and sacrifices. At first I couldn't believe she thought about giving up her dance career, especially since she just met Jacob and hardly knows him. But as the story grew I switched. Why wouldn't she choose a "normal" life? The ending came as a surprise for me, but I agreed with Hannah's decision. I loved Hannah, she's such a sweet girl and I admire her ambition!

Sophie Flack has an amazing writing style and I couldn't put the book down!
If you love dancing, you'll definitely love this book!