Super Short Summary

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan follows sisters Antoinette and Marie van Goethem in 19th-century Paris as they struggle to survive after their father’s death. With their mother consumed by alcoholism, Marie joins the Paris Opera Ballet while Antoinette becomes entangled with a criminal. The novel explores their efforts to escape poverty and make new lives for themselves. The novel addresses themes of alcoholism, poverty, and exploitation.