Corpse de Ballet
Megan Kearney
First Second
Published July 7, 2026
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About Corpse de Ballet
In her solo graphic novel debut, Megan Kearney weaves a fresh tale of dark academia and brutal competition. This psychological thriller is perfect for fans of Black Swan!
Arriving at Saint Anselmus in the middle of the year, Rosamund Hammond is ready to practice hard and prove she deserves to be there. But something at this boarding school doesn’t feel right.
It turns out that just before Rosamund enrolled, a student disappeared without telling anyone. Was it really a leave of absence—or something more sinister? Together with her new roommate, Rosamund spirals deeper and deeper into an obsession with the truth. As the school prepares for its showcase performance of Coppélia, can she commit to her hard-earned ballet dreams while solving the mystery that’s haunting her—or will she lose herself in the process?
My Review
As a former dancer, I love books that feature ballet. Graphic novels are especially fun because of the visual representation of dance. This one is no exception. I loved the way that the illustrations captured the movement of dance. The story emphasizes the difference between rote performance and transcendent embodiment of roles and movements. The panels capture that nicely.
I also enjoyed the psychological elements. For a long stretch of the story, I wasn’t sure what to believe. Is Rosamund imagining things? Which characters are trustworthy? Someone is hiding things, but who is it? As the intensity builds, I found myself reading faster, eager to reach the moment the truth is revealed.
Another wonderful surprise in this book is how much history it contains. While I was familiar with the ballet Coppélia, I didn’t know anything about the original tale it was adapted from or anything about the author of that story. That history and some information about famous performances of the story tied together really well with the story Kearney tells here.
Altogether, this is a clever, gorgeous story that will delight and haunt its readers. It’s not quite as intense as the movie The Black Swan, but if you like that kind of story, definitely check this one out.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
None.
Spiritual Content
Rosamund believes a ghost is communicating with her. References to a story about an alchemist seeking to animate an automaton.
Violent Content
Bullying and manipulation. Psychological tension. Brief reference to a ritual human sacrifice in a story.
Drug Content
None.
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