Available:*
Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607002557133 | Young Adult | DIXON | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Come and mend your broken hearts here. In this retelling of the classic tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," the eldest princess must fight to save her family--and her heart--from an ancient dark magic within the palace walls. "Full of mystery, lush settings, and fully orbed characters, Dixon's debut is both suspenseful and rewarding."--ALA Booklist
Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her--beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing--it's taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.
Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late. "Readers who enjoy stories of royalty, romance, and magic will delight in Dixon's first novel."--Publishers Weekly
Supports the Common Core State Standards
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10-This novelized reimagining of the Grimms' "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is a successful and appealing blend of fantasy, romance, mystery, and creepiness. After her mother's death and the banning of all diversions by her grieving and distant father, the eldest of the 12 sisters, Princess Azalea, finds a magical entrance to a fantasy world of a dancing pavilion to which the sisters can escape each night. Azalea slowly begins to understand that the handsome and mysterious Pavilion Keeper has a sinister plan that will ensnare her, but it is only toward the climax that its terrible meaning becomes clear. Her battle with the Keeper will require all of her courage, ingenuity, and ultimately something magical beyond herself. While the plot has a fairy-tale feel, the relationships among the sisters have more of a contemporary domestic sensibility. There are hints of something deeper, too, with 16-year-old Azalea trying to fill the shoes of her mother even while she grieves for her, and struggling with the weight of that responsibility. Woven around the fantasy is a gentle romance theme accompanied by touches of humor, with the king attempting to marry off his daughters and the princesses insisting on their autonomy. Dixon successfully distinguishes the younger girls by emphasizing only one or two traits for each. The three eldest, Azalea, Bramble, and Clover, are more fully drawn. The suitors are by turns appealing and funny, but it is the Keeper who stays with readers. Fans of Gail Carson Levine's Fairest (HarperCollins, 2006) or Julie Kagawa's "Iron Fey" series (Harlequin Teen) will cheer on Azalea and her sisters in their quest for family and happiness.-Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers who enjoy stories of royalty, romance, and magic will delight in Dixon's first novel. Part confection, part acute observation, the story of Azalea and her sisters is a reimagining of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" by an author who knows both the protocols and the pleasures of dance. The girls lose that when their mother dies in childbirth, and the castle is plunged into deepest mourning. Their father, whom they call "the King," banishes the girls from his sight and shortly thereafter goes off to war without saying good-bye. Grieving, angry, and bored, Azalea discovers a hidden passage out of the princesses' room, and the magical pavilion it leads to, guarded by the enigmatic spirit Keeper, is the perfect place to dance again. Or is it? Azalea, keenly aware of her duties as the Princess Royale, cannot trust a dream-come-true scenario nor can she forget the warm brown eyes of Mr. Bradford, met briefly and now warring beside the King. The language is simple, rendering Dixon's insights with a light touch without simplifying the problems Azalea faces or the nuances of the understanding she develops. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.