a pulling behind the veil of the supposed elegant and glamourous life of a ballerina. pazcoguin comes off as a sometimes cynical, sometimes pretentious, but most times warm-hearted older sister as she regales the readers of living as a young person in new york, the relationships she forms with her ballet community (for good and for worse), as well as well-worn advice for navigating the world of ballet. she is unflinching in the reality of what it takes to be a ballerina, from the occasional odd job pickup, to the abuse and harassment faced, in particular with her boss. the writing did come off a tad bit cringe, but my interest in the ballet world allowed me to stomach it.