The Turnout book review
- Kyla Denanyoh
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
There is nothing scarier than a hungry person.
Take a hungry person and add somebody doing physical activity all the time? Recipe for disaster.
This was a book I was not expecting at all.
As you know, I choose books by the covers. I saw this cover and thought, “Okay, this looks interesting.” I had no idea what I was walking into.
And honestly? This was basically a psychological thriller.
I almost wish the library had a separate category specifically for gaslighting because that is a very special kind of suspense that gets down into your bones and gives you that icky feeling where you are constantly asking yourself, “Did that happen? Did it not happen?”
Gaslighting is terrifying, and there is a lot of that happening in this book.
There are also a lot of repressed emotions and tension simmering underneath everything, so this absolutely felt more psychological thriller than anything else.
One of the biggest plot twists for me was finding out Derek has a relationship with one of the sisters.
He is a secondary character dating one of the sisters, and the sisters are running a ballet studio together.
And let me just say this clearly: I hated Derek.
Absolutely hated him.
Like Joffrey from Game of Thrones level hatred.
“I absolutely hated him.”
What was interesting, though, was how Derek somehow pushed the sisters and the husband closer together in certain ways. But even with that, I still could not stand him.
One thing that completely surprised me was finding out the sisters were preparing for The Nutcracker.
Nothing about the cover screams Christmas, ballet, winter, or holiday season. So when that came up in the story, I was genuinely shocked because I love The Nutcracker.
I completely understand why the publisher probably avoided putting holiday imagery on the cover because they likely did not want it boxed into being a seasonal read, but it was still a huge surprise.
Get your copy of The Turnout. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I have been to the ballet before. I love the dancers, the music, all of it. But I had never really stopped to think about what is happening behind the scenes in the lives of the people running the show.
Ballerinas date. They get married. They deal with family drama and messy relationships just like everyone else.
And unfortunately, this ballerina dated Derek.
Really interesting read.
Would I reread The Turnout?
No. Not at all.
I almost put the book down a couple of times because I was struggling to figure out where the story was going. And then the ending was really surprising to me.
This is definitely not a book I need to revisit.
Honestly, I hope Megan Abbott just has an incredible imagination because if you read the book, you will understand why I hope none of this was inspired by real life.
Until the next book review,
Kyla
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