Wildwood Dancing, written by Juliet Marillier, is an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable version of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The story is told through the eyes of Jena, the second oldest and the leader of a group of five sisters. The girls have a secret portal to the Other Kingdom that opens every full moon. Once in the Other Kingdom, they spend the night dancing, talking with scholars and sages, or playing games.Pros: This is a true fairy tale! The authoress went to Transylvania and learned about Transylvanian folklore as it was before Dracula came onto the scene. Jena is a commendable person, as are (most of) her siblings. And both love stories are quite sweet, if a little over-dramatized.
Cons: I was disappointed with the predictability of a key plot point- I guessed Gogu's true identity almost immediately. Another problem I had was with one character's despair. I find it very difficult to like a character who gives up and dies because she can't have the one thing she wants most in the world.
My Rating: T (for mild sexual content)
Picture from goodreads.com
I'm reading this book, and I really like it :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my blog! I'm so glad you joined!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this book, too. Being a big fairy tale fan, I love it when something comes on the scene that is 1) morally acceptable and 2) has something new and interesting to offer in the way of characters and storyline. I think this book got a slam dunk in both.