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On Christmas Day, Azalea’s mother passes away and the whole country begins a year of mourning. Her father grows distant and ignores his daughters. During the period of mourning Azalea and her 11 sisters have to wear black, stay inside the castle, and aren’t able to do their favorite pastime, dancing. Desperate for some grasp of their former life, the girls begin dancing in secret throughout the castle. When they get caught by their father, however, they search for another location. When they discover a magic passage to a place run by Keeper, a man who is as mysterious as his land. When they get invited back to dance as much as they like every night, the girls are thrilled. After a while, however, Keeper starts stealing their stuff, becoming cruel and violent, and demanding Azalea find the magic object to free him. Azalea soon discovers that Keeper wishes harm on the Captain General, her father. Desperate to save her family, Azalea attempts to find the object and figure out a way to stop Keeper. Trapped by an oath she made not to reveal to her father anything about the magic passage and Keeper, Azalea finds herself unable to break the news to father. A glimmer of hope appears, however, when the king finds out about their evening dancing and puts out an advertisement asking single, eligible males who think they can solve the riddle of the princesses’ evening excursions to come and give it a shot. None of the men seem able to solve the riddle, though. Will Azalea find a way to stop Keeper and save her family?
A retelling of the fairy tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” this touching, entertaining version will delight fans of Jessica Day George, Mettie Ivie Harrison, Gail Carson Levine, Cameron Dokey, and other fairy tale retellers for older readers. The characters are well-developed. The plot does a great job of holding the reader’s interest. Readers who like fantasy, adventure, romance, and comedy will enjoy reading this book.
Review by Kira Moody, Olympus Jr. High School Community Friend
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Interest Level: Grades 5-9
Entwined
Written by Heather Dixon
Greenwillow / HarperCollins
480 p.
Release Date: March 29, 2011
ISBN: 9780062001030
Leave a comment on this review on or before Tuesday (2/15/2011) and you may receive a free copy (ARC) of this title for your library. (Winning commenter will be picked randomly.)
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George was one of my favorite Beehive 2011 Nominees, so this book sounds delightful! I’m sure my princess story loving students will enjoy it, too.
Thank you for bringing this book and author to my attention. I love a good retelling of a classic fairytale, and I am always on the lookout for new authors, especially if they are being compared to Gail Carson Levine and Jessica Day George, two authors who are already tried and true by the students who come to our library.
This sounds like a great fictional telling of the 12 dancing princesses. I’ll add it to my booklist to add to the Granger High library when it comes out the end of March. I can’t wait.
I love retellings of fairy tales…as do so many readers in our school. This looks like one to add to our list.
Becky, you are the winner of the random commenting contest. The ARC copy of Entwined will be coming to your school through district mail. Thanks everyone for the comments.