Shiny Broken Pieces (Tiny Pretty Things, #2)

by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

[Angie]

If you thought what these girls did to each other in Tiny Pretty Things were bad, wait until you read Shiny Broken Pieces! The stakes are higher than ever at the American Ballet Company. Bette, Gigi, and June are in their final year at the prestigious dance school. Well, Gigi and June are. Bette has been suspended, but she's desperate to prove her innocence, be allowed back, and then audition for the Spring performance of Swan Lake. But in her spot is the newly returned Cassie, and she just might want this more than Bette.

I'll start with the one thing that I didn't like about Shiny Broken Pieces, which was Bette's journey to find the evidence that will clear her name. It was all so convenient and honestly, completely unbelievable. She easily stumbles upon the one thing that will 100% show that she didn't push Gigi and does show who actually did it. If it was that easy, why didn't it come up during the investigation? It seemed like a forced way to get Bette out of the picture for awhile and get her on the track for redemption. It just didn't make sense.

Other than that, Shiny Broken Pieces was amazing! It's not just Bette and June being the bad girls. Gigi refuses to be a victim anymore and joins in on the bullying. Cassie also swears to get revenge on the girls who tormented her before she was forced to leave the previous year. No one is safe and no one is innocent. We even get a lot more of Eleanor and Sei-Jin, which I really enjoyed. The "pranks" do go way too far this time. So far, in fact, that the school is in jeopardy.

Shiny Broken Pieces also goes way deeper into June's eating disorder. It's not just her putting quarters into her underwear to make weight. Her life is seriously in danger and the school and her mother simply will not tolerate it anymore. We actually get to see June at her lowest point along with the consequences. Then we see her set on the path to recovery. She's not magically "fixed" by the end. I do believe that she wants to be strong and healthy so that she can keep on dancing.

Shiny Broken Pieces was another great read. Ballet is a highly competitive career and it's astonishing to me how far these young women and men (yes, even the guys are behaving badly!) will go to be on top. I also think that ending was perfect. It's not quite the good overcomes evil type of ending that I was expecting, but it's also not the evil gets what they want ending that I wanted. It's somewhere in the middle which is quite fitting.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.