If you’re one of the thousands of readers who devoured Megan Abbott’s THE TURNOUT earlier this year, Rachel Kapelke-Dale’s debut novel is here to provide another dose of balletic intrigue and suspense. THE BALLERINAS is a very different book, of course, but it is sure to satisfy readers who enjoy stories about the competitive backstage world of professional ballet, as well as anyone interested in probing the complexities of women’s friendships.

Delphine, Lindsay and Margaux have been closer than close ever since they began taking classes at the Paris Opera Ballet as children. Year after year, as their less talented peers were winnowed out, the three young women started to imagine their life upon the stage --- as company members or perhaps, someday, even as “stars,” the prestigious designation given to only a handful of the company’s most acclaimed principal dancers.

"THE BALLERINAS is a taut, suspenseful literary novel that will resonate not only with balletomanes but with any readers who enjoy tracing the evolution of characters and relationships over time."

Delphine’s mother was a star, and Delphine always felt pressure to live up to her example --- not to mention her advice to avoid a career-shortening pregnancy like the one that resulted in Delphine. It turns out that Lindsay and Margaux also have been wrestling with their own demons --- stressors that only grow more pronounced as the young dancers mature.

When we first meet Delphine, she has returned to Paris after more than a dozen years away. Following a short stint in the Paris Opera Ballet’s company, she turned her attention to choreography (and to a relationship with another choreographer), and now she has returned to Paris to choreograph a new ballet for her former colleagues and friends. These include roles for Lindsay and Margaux, of course, as well as for her one-time love, Jacques, who now calls himself Jock after spending time as a dancer in New York City. All of them are now in their mid-30s and keenly aware that the clock is ticking on their remaining years as professional dancers. As a choreographer, Delphine doesn’t experience the same kind of pressure, but she is struggling with the new ballet, in terms of its casting and themes.

THE BALLERINAS unfolds in two parallel narratives: one that begins when the three women are still students at the ballet school, and one that opens with Delphine’s return as an adult. As the two chronologies start to converge in ways that threaten to explode, readers discover secrets that explain characters’ behavior and motivations.

Kapelke-Dale, who trained seriously as a ballet dancer, incorporates convincing details about the professional lives of her characters. She also co-wrote a memoir, GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND, about the complexities and significance of female friendships, and readers will see her continue to explore these themes in her novel as well. Touching on #MeToo, women’s reproductive choices and other timely topics, THE BALLERINAS is a taut, suspenseful literary novel that will resonate not only with balletomanes but with any readers who enjoy tracing the evolution of characters and relationships over time.