Last week I was engrossed in a book called Entwined, by Heather Dixon. It's one of those sometimes rare novels where you really want to read it as often as you can, instead of just during the times you usually read. (For me, that's during breakfast and lunch, before I go to sleep, and in the car sometimes.) The book is a re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses and it actually has a sort of morbid twist to it, but the thing that captivated me the most was the 12 sisters.
Azalea, who becomes a sort of second mother to her younger sisters when their mother dies, and who is the main character; the madcap, sometimes comical Bramble, who despite this is not a tomboy; the shy, beautiful and caring Clover; the romantic, dramatic Delphinium; literary-loving Evening Primrose, (Eve for short;) the twins Flora and Goldenrod, both "shy and eager at the same time"; Hollyhock, who I didn't notice having a particularly defining personality trait; the ever-hungry Ivy; delicate, quiet Jessamine; vicious Kale, who likes to bite people and scream, and who always made me laugh; and baby Lily. Each of their distinguishing personalities charmed me, and their closeness made me smile.
The professional book review which I felt expressed the book the best was this one:
Graceful and enthralling...a fully original world, brimming with romance, enchantment, even a healthy dose of humor. --Edith Pattou
However, I do think that Ms. Pattou shouldn't have listed romance first, because I think that the friendship between the sisters is more prominent, and that even their estrangement from their father, the King, and the looming danger coming from Keeper, the master of the pavilion and silver forest where they sneak off to dance every night, are more significant in the book than romance.
The sisters live for dancing, I think, or perhaps a better way to word it would be 'they can not live without dancing.' So, forbidden to do so because of mourning, they go to dance secretly.
The book was very different from what I expected it to be, the cover with the back of a girl in a rather odd dress and the whole outer appearance of the tome made me think that it would be more of a romantic book with not so much focus on the rest of the girls, just Azalea. But I loved the many heart-warming scenes, the frank way Ms. Dixon writes, the numerous funny bits, the slightly British feel to some parts, so much that I think I might like to purchase this book for myself, to re-read over and over as I do with my favorite books.
<Entwined coverReally, this is becoming more book reviews and fashion pictures than actual stories or poems! Oh, well! Lately I haven't been genuinely, properly inspired for a really good something. Grr!
