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mariaaah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’ve read several of her books and imo this is the worst. I kept waiting for it to pick up pace or become more exciting like her books do, but it really didn’t until very close to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
sarahsss's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A nasty piece of work. In the most delightful sense possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicide
balletbookworm's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
2.5 stars rolled up to maybe a three because I did really find the metaphor of the "rot" behind the perfection of the ballet dancer interesting, embodied in the literal rot of the old house, the studio that hasn't been maintained, the secret shared between Dara, Marie, and Charlie.
However.
The writing about dance is so...if you read all the stereotypes of dancers, they're all in this book. it's extremely lurid. And all happening to CHILDREN. I have never heard of anyone have an obsession with bruised toenails falling off as much as Abbott does in this book. (Look, I danced from the ages of 3 to about 35 and that only happened to me once - when I was changing pointe shoe manufacturers in my 20s. And that was it. I never saw it happen to anyone else except once of the guys was practicing a jump too close to the wall and whacked his toe on the barre.) The mother - who exists in this book as a memory and an obsession of the narrator Dara - feels like she was teleported into this book from a tour of the Ballet Russe des Monte Carlo in 1935 (and everyone in this book has cell phones and pagers, so it's not a historical). And then there was the lengthy description of "achieving turnout" which does not work like that at all.
Which, I suppose, is probably some sort of additional comment on the internal rot in the main characters. But that doesn't make it any easier to swallow when the sleazy contractor character goes "I like the pink" and then hangs around the studio. Bleah. But at least this knocked off one of my 24 backlist to read this year.
However.
The writing about dance is so...if you read all the stereotypes of dancers, they're all in this book. it's extremely lurid. And all happening to CHILDREN. I have never heard of anyone have an obsession with bruised toenails falling off as much as Abbott does in this book. (Look, I danced from the ages of 3 to about 35 and that only happened to me once - when I was changing pointe shoe manufacturers in my 20s. And that was it. I never saw it happen to anyone else except once of the guys was practicing a jump too close to the wall and whacked his toe on the barre.) The mother - who exists in this book as a memory and an obsession of the narrator Dara - feels like she was teleported into this book from a tour of the Ballet Russe des Monte Carlo in 1935 (and everyone in this book has cell phones and pagers, so it's not a historical). And then there was the lengthy description of "achieving turnout" which does not work like that at all.
Which, I suppose, is probably some sort of additional comment on the internal rot in the main characters. But that doesn't make it any easier to swallow when the sleazy contractor character goes "I like the pink" and then hangs around the studio. Bleah. But at least this knocked off one of my 24 backlist to read this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Incest
katieg4's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity and Suicide
charlotte_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Eating disorder
sstewart89's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Wildly dark - should have read the trigger warnings.
Update (01.14.2023): Upon thinking about this book at the end of 2023, I think part of the issue with The Turnout is that the book does not seem to really know what it is trying to communicate or invoke. The book swings, but the game is not baseball, it is curling, and the book has interrupted to perform an impromptu interpretive golf tournament. It just does not really seem to make a ton of sense or have a cohesive message, though it is clear that Megan Abbott writes lovely prose.
Update (01.14.2023): Upon thinking about this book at the end of 2023, I think part of the issue with The Turnout is that the book does not seem to really know what it is trying to communicate or invoke. The book swings, but the game is not baseball, it is curling, and the book has interrupted to perform an impromptu interpretive golf tournament. It just does not really seem to make a ton of sense or have a cohesive message, though it is clear that Megan Abbott writes lovely prose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
agmaynard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Narrated beautifully by Cassandra Campbell. Largely creepily effective, though some trimming would have helped, and the Nutcracker prep and runup was too much, even though its metaphorical elements were an underpinning plus history for the three MCs. Earthiness, pain, and more in ballet. CW for suicide and sexual exploitation of children and adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide
callistabanks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
This was a super weird read. The way it was written was sort of weird and a little chaotic, which I didn't really like, it made it a bit more difficult to read. The writing of the book, while sort of jumpy and a bit incoherent, was well detailed almost more than it needed to be in some places.
The storyline was also sort of odd, the second half of the book was much better than the first, I really enjoyed when it got into the thrill of it all with the deaths. The ending definitely took me by surprise, which I liked, it was unexpected but it sort of worked. I really liked how this book showed the realities of a dancer/ballerina, from the hard truth of what they go through as children, toughening their feet and also the jealousy and bullying that can happen (for poor Bailey who was chosen for Clara), but also how injuries can ruin it all, as seen in Charlie, who barely even taught after his injuries. I also loved how it spoke of pain being their friend and that's what they were taught by their mother, which is very much a dancer's view and a harsh reality of being one.
*** Spoilers beyond this point ***
I thought their family dynamic was super freaking weird, from Dara and Marie's discussions as children about their bodies, to their mother and father's constant fighting, to their mother taking in Charlie as a "son" but also getting with him and then Dara marrying him after the fact. Not to mention the constant implying of there being some sort of incest between Dara and Marie, or some sort of weird dynamic in which they both shared Charlie, or they were some weirdly incestuous throuple. I also thought that Marie and Dara had a weird relationship with each other, although I liked at the end when they sorta realised how f*cked up their dynamic and how they grew up was, which in turn made them realise they needed to separate. It was nice seeing Marie, away from the dance school and on her own travelling, while Dara went on a different path, and stayed teaching at the school.
The characters were very much unlikeable, and I didn't feel too attached when either Derek or Charlie died, they were a shock and unexpected but I didn't feel I cared for either of them. Especially considering both of them were cheating on their respective partners, and made questionable decisions throughout the book.
I really liked the surprise of Charlie killing himself, it was somewhat unexpected, as you didn't really get any insight of his thought process. Additionally, I also really liked when Derek died, I disliked his character since his entrance, and it only grew as you saw how he treated Marie and his wife.
I also found it hard to tell if any of these "accidents" were actually accidents, the fire and then flood in the studio, or the fire in their house, all incidents felt like they were planned by someone.
All in all, the story was an interesting one, between the writing style, the story and the unlikeable characters, I couldn't give it more than 3 stars. There were bits I liked and obviously, bits I didn't like, but I think it is a very interesting read.
The storyline was also sort of odd, the second half of the book was much better than the first, I really enjoyed when it got into the thrill of it all with the deaths. The ending definitely took me by surprise, which I liked, it was unexpected but it sort of worked. I really liked how this book showed the realities of a dancer/ballerina, from the hard truth of what they go through as children, toughening their feet and also the jealousy and bullying that can happen (for poor Bailey who was chosen for Clara), but also how injuries can ruin it all, as seen in Charlie, who barely even taught after his injuries. I also loved how it spoke of pain being their friend and that's what they were taught by their mother, which is very much a dancer's view and a harsh reality of being one.
*** Spoilers beyond this point ***
The characters were very much unlikeable, and I didn't feel too attached when either Derek or Charlie died, they were a shock and unexpected but I didn't feel I cared for either of them. Especially considering both of them were cheating on their respective partners, and made questionable decisions throughout the book.
I really liked the surprise of Charlie killing himself, it was somewhat unexpected, as you didn't really get any insight of his thought process. Additionally, I also really liked when Derek died, I disliked his character since his entrance, and it only grew as you saw how he treated Marie and his wife.
I also found it hard to tell if any of these "accidents" were actually accidents, the fire and then flood in the studio, or the fire in their house, all incidents felt like they were planned by someone.
All in all, the story was an interesting one, between the writing style, the story and the unlikeable characters, I couldn't give it more than 3 stars. There were bits I liked and obviously, bits I didn't like, but I think it is a very interesting read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail