Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

Any book that has ballet in it is a winner for me, and Russian Winter had a lot.  Nina is a Soviet girl who tested successfully into the Bolshoi training school with her best friend Vera in Soviet Russia.  Nina grows up to be a successful ballet dancer, using ballet as a distraction and total focus which keeps her mind away from politics and the increasing number of arrests by the government in which people simply disappear.

Flash forward to present day Boston, in which an aged Nina donates several pieces of expensive jewelry to an auction house to raise money for the Boston Ballet.  In doing so, memories of Nina's time as a Bolshoi ballerina, her husband, her eventual defection, all flood back to her.  Surprisingly, a matching piece of jewelry is donated by a Russian professor who was given the necklace by a family member.

In a period of betrayals, Nina doubts things she sees and experiences she has, which eventually makes her turn her back on everyone she knows and thinks she trusts.  As an old woman, Nina reflects back on these feelings and finally learns the truth about her loved ones.

There's not much about this book that I didn't like.  The characters were well-developed, Nina was likable, the ballet descriptions were accurate and exciting, the story flowed at a great pace.  Soviet Russia is always interesting, even in a morbid, terrifying way.  My one complaint was the ending was a bit vague.  Well thought out, but perhaps not well executed.  Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Bunheads by Sophie Flack

I'd forgotten how much I love young adult fiction before I picked up this book.  It's been years since I picked up my last YA book, after years of obsessively reading them.  An old coworker, Crystal, herself a voracious young adult reader, recommended some books to me after I asked her why an adult read so many children's books. Clearly the joke was on me.  Many YA books are just plain awesome.

I bought Bunheads on a recent trip to Colorado.  The title comes from a slang term for ballerina.  Hannah is a ballerina in the corps of the Manhattan Ballet.  After spending her life working hard to first get into the corps, then get promoted to a soloist, real life starts intruding onto Hannah's life, making her  wonder if her choices that were once perfect for her are still right for her now.  She meets a guy, makes life long friends, and starts dreaming of life outside the ballet.  After sacrificing most of her childhood for the ballet bar, doubts start creeping into her mind about how willing she is to sacrifice most of her adult life as well.

Hannah is smart, brave, and willing to work hard.  As a former ballerina, I loved the minute details of life behind the curtains. This is Flack's first novel, and she did well.  She's a former ballerina, which adds a sense of realism to the hard work and dedication present everyday in a ballet company.