by Joanna Hay

Created on: June 26, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier, tells the story of five young sisters left on their own in a gloomy castle in the farthest reaches of Transylvania. Although the sisters could not be more different in personality, they share an important secret. For when the five come together in their bedroom on the night of a full moon, a secret portal to the land of fairy is opened for the duration of the night.

Each full moon the girls put on their best ball gowns and go the forest glen where all the better fairy citizens come to dance the night away. The sisters never take anyone with them....except the enchanted frog that is the constant companion of Jena (the second oldest sister and the narrator of the story).

All is well until their father becomes ill and leaves to spend the winter in the city to regain his health. All at once the sisters are left to the questionable care of their dominant male cousin. At the same time, things begin to fall apart in the land of fairy as the darker members of fairy come to join the dancing and the eldest sister becomes enamored of a suitably sinister member of their party. To add to the suspense, the mansion the girls dwell in has a reputation for magical things and a sequence of events in the village turns the population against all things enchanted. Jena is left in the middle of this maelstrom as she attempts to hold her family together, protect her home, and sort out some misunderstandings with her talking frog.

Anyone who loves fairy tales is going to be instantly enamored with this book. The obvious references are to the classic stories of 'The Frog Prince' and 'The Seven Dancing Sisters' and these themes are maintained throughout the book. Other classic folk tale themes are also woven throughout the book and of course there are many members of fairy races including vampires, fairies, and dwarves. The story manages to preserve the spirit of all these classic characters and tales without becoming trite or rehearsed.

As with all good folk tales, Marillier also works in several morals and life lessons. Although this makes it an even better book to recommend to today's teens and young adults, these ideas are subtly insinuated rather than beating the reader over the head with them like so many teen novels seem to.

I would definitely recommend this modern fairy tale to anyone looking for a good read. It has much to offer both the newcomer to the genre and the more experienced fantasy reader.

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