This is the first time I’m doing a review like this but I thought it would be interesting. My first book review of the year was for the book Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, and you can read that here. The main reason why I read it is that I wanted to watch the Netflix series, and also because I love ballet. I took dance classes when I was younger before switching to gymnastics, and I took a ballet class in college. I’m the type of person who likes to read the book before watching the adaptation. There have been very few cases where I’ve watched the adaptation before reading the book. I’ve probably done it less than five times. Now on to the review which, I will try to keep as non-spoiler as possible.

The show did switch the names of a few of the characters but kept the personalities the same. I was able to match the show characters to their book characters. The show also changes what happened to Cassie and the ballet that the students perform. The show kept June’s complicated relationship with her mother, which I appreciated. If you’ve read the book, you know there’s a lot of drama, and the show did not skimp on that.

If you’re wondering what I enjoyed better, I enjoyed them both equally. The show is binge-worthy and entertaining. I hope there’s a season two which follows the events of Shiny Broken Things.