Wildwood Dancing
by Juliet Marillier
Published by Alfred A. Knopf
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
A young adult fantasy, Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier is quite simply, delicious. It is part historical fiction, part romance, part mystery, part fantasy and completely magical. The prose is beautiful, the plot is captivating and the characters are drawn so precisely that your imagination is like a camera capturing the essence of the author's ideas.
Five curious and adventurous sisters live in a drafty old castle (Piscul Dracului) in Transylvania. The castle is on the edge of mysterious and haunted woodlands. One night, on a full moon, the sisters open a portal between their world and the haunted wood. And each month, for many years, they dress in their best gowns and dance with their woodland friends all night, only to stagger home before sunrise, tired and happy and eager for their next visit.
Jenica is 16 and because of her father's illness, she takes on the responsibility for the family business and her sisters. Jenica's best friend is her pet frog, Gogu (she takes him everywhere). The winter is particularly harsh and Jenica struggles to keep her family fed. But her overbearing, spiteful and power-hungry cousin, Cezar, takes control of the household and threatens not only the family, but their beloved woodland. Life is already difficult enough, but Tatiana (another sister) falls in love with one of the feared Night People.
Jenica will have to travel between worlds to save her sister, her family and business, and to learn the years-old secrets of family betrayal that may have even greater consequences than they all ready have had.
Armchair Interviews says: A must read! The best young adult book I've read in the past year.
Author's Web site: http://www.julietmarillier.com