The Turnout: A Read with Jenna Pick

By: Megan Abbott

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

"Impossible to put down, creepy and claustrophobic. It’s ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane’ in ballet shoes." —Stephen King

Best Book of the Year
NPR • Wall Street Journal • Boston Globe • Library Journal • CrimeReads • LitReactor • Air Mail

• Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize

• A TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick

• An Instant New York Times Bestseller

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Megan Abbott's exquisite and disquieting new novel, “dark and juicy and tinged with horror” (The New York Times Books Review), set against the hothouse of a family-run ballet studio.

With their long necks and matching buns and pink tights, Dara and Marie Durant have been dancers since they can remember. Growing up, they were homeschooled and trained by their glamorous mother, founder of the Durant School of Dance. After their parents' death in a tragic accident nearly a dozen years ago, the sisters began running the school together, along with Charlie, Dara's husband and once their mother's prized student.

Marie, warm and soft, teaches the younger students; Dara, with her precision, trains the older ones; and Charlie, sidelined from dancing after years of injuries, rules over the back office. Circling around one another, the three have perfected a dance, six days a week, that keeps the studio thriving. But when a suspicious accident occurs, just at the onset of the school's annual performance of The Nutcracker—a season of competition, anxiety, and exhilaration—an interloper arrives and threatens the sisters' delicate balance.

Taut and unnerving, The Turnout is Megan Abbott at the height of her game. With uncanny insight and hypnotic writing, it is a sharp and strange dissection of family ties and sexuality, femininity and power, and a tale that is both alarming and irresistible.

Interesting

It’s a book that I think will stick with you. Some of the plot was too on the nose but otherwise well written. If you liked Macbeth the novel at Halloween, you’ll like this mystery at Christmas.

Wear OUT!

I was so invested in this book, I didn’t realize how worn out I was by the end.
So many adjectives.. words on words on words.
This is one book that the “abridged” version might be better.
Storyline is great… but again..a wear out!

The Turnout 4½ ⭐

Audio Recording
The reason this audio recording got 4½ stars instead of 5 stars is that part of it was predictable. But the parts that weren't predictable were unforeseeable. I really liked that part of the story.

The story is about a family of ballerinas (mother and 2 daughters) and a young boy dancer that is enveloped into the family. The father is not a a dancer. The story starts several years after the deaths of the parents and one of the girls is married to the boy dancer. They run the ballet school that their mother ran for many years. The highlight of the of the school's year is The Nutcracker Ballet. The story revolves around the family dynamics and the ballet.

l highly recommend.

Maybe Just a Bit Much

Right when I just wanted to be finished with this book, it got crazier. Maybe a bit too much. I have friends who loved it, but I think it was just…too much. Although definitely a crazy, creative storyline.

Eh

Found it difficult to want to listen. Strange story. I liked the reader, her voice did not annoy me

Thrilling.

Gripping, thrilling, you never know where it’ll go. This is a lovely novel. A must read.

Compelling

I really enjoyed the gritty descriptions of what ballet is actually like-as opposed to the beauty of what performances exhibit. The veiled menace of the antagonist was truly frightening. The psychological twists and turns of the characters’ memory and perceptions were captivating.

Dark and twisted

It was hard to stick with, and I almost gave up many times. It did have a mystery within it that kept me listening and starts getting interesting more than halfway through. It is just really dark and stomach turning. The author did a good job of getting into that mindset. It’s gross and toxic. If that’s what you’re into- then it’s good. I definitely needs a light palate cleanser after this one.

Loved it!

I don't really understand all the pearl clutching reviews. I understand some can be put off by sexual content, but that doesn't mean the book isn't for everyone. I disagree that Abbott sexualized children. To me, it was about abuse. About being taken advantage of. And yes, sometimes about adolescent desires, hormones, etc. This doesn't have to be a taboo topic. And especially in the world of ballet where girls ARE sexualized from a young age, develop eating disorders, perform on injuries, forced to retire so young, etc. I could go on and on. None of this is new. But Abbott uses the backdrop of sisters who own a ballet studio and the Nutcracker, arguably as famous or more than Swan Lake, and it really worked. It's a murder mystery and also an inside look at the ballet world. Abbott also did this well with cheerleaders in Dare Me.

Anyway, that was a long way of saying I really enjoyed the book. Maybe I like metaphors. And the allusion to smells, setting the scene. Maybe I like the realism. Some say they don't warm to the characters, and I say you're not exactly supposed to. The sisters are supposed to be odd and mysterious. That's why they're interesting.

But I also really enjoyed the narration. Cassandra Campbell is excellent at what she does. I've listened to several books she has narrated and actually only just realized it was her. Her voice takes you into the story without calling attention to herself. She's a pro, at her best.

Decent story

This was a decent story, some of it was predictable. Other parts were unexpected. I enjoyed it, but felt like the middle of the book dragged on. There was lots of drama and it was a lot to unpack the childhood trauma of the main characters. Emotionally it was heavy, but redeemed itself in the end.