Review: 84 Ribbons - Paddy Eger

 

 

Review: 84 Ribbons - Paddy Eger - May 2014

One of the themes that I love to read about in Books is Ballet and Dance. When I saw that I had 84 Ribbons to read and I was in the mood for a ballet novel, I opened it up on my kindle and started reading. The book starts with Marta auditioning for a part in an International Ballet Troupe and finally after many rejections , she finally gets accepted and moves to the Billings, Montana where she has been given a spot at the Intermountain Ballet Company. At first, I was under the impression that this book was contemporay set but it wasn't until I saw the line-up for the ballet performances throughout the year that I discovered I was reading a historical set novel. 84 Ribbons is set during the time period of 1957-1958. Marta's dream is to earn her 84 Ribbons which represent the amount of ballet shoes she has worn out as she once read that once someone has reached 84 ribbons, you are now considered a professional ballet dancer. During this time, Marta finds herself at odds with the Ballet teacher known as Madame Cosper and she wonders if she will ever be able to achieve her dreams as for some reason, the Madam has it in for her. This year though, will open Marta's eyes into a new world - a world where diet pills are considered an option to stay thin as no-one wants a fat dancer , a life where she will discover dating and what it's like to have someone love you no matter what and friends and foes - what its like to live with people who either love you or hate you. This book does touch on the dark side of Ballet and what some girls do in order to win. In 84 Ribbons, when tragedy strikes Marta not once but three times , she must face the hardest decision in her life - to dance or to simply move on and face reality that she may never reach her goal of becoming a famous ballerina .

If you love Ballet Novels , then 84 Ribbons is the perfect book to have you "reading" in circles.