The Phoenix Dance - Hardcover

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Gr. 4-7. The familiar story of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," in which each of 12 princesses wears out a pair of shoes each night after secretly escaping the palace to dance, provides some plot elements here. But for most of the story, the fairy tale is mere background. Instead of focusing on one of the princesses, Calhoun tells the story of a commoner, young Phoenix Dance, who discovers the princesses' secret and works to free them from their enchantment. Apprenticed to a shoemaker, Phoenix proves so creative in her slipper designs for the princesses that she earns a royal warrant. However, she is plagued by "the Illness of the Two Kingdoms," which the appended author's note explains is "based on a real illness in our world called bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness." The compelling portrayal of Phoenix as she slowly slips from one emotional extreme to the other gives a memorable edge to the novel. An unusual and readable entry in the growing list of novels based on traditional fairy tales. Carolyn Phelan
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Grade 6 Up–In the kingdom of Windward, on the island of Faranor, Phoenix Dance, a young apprentice shoemaker, suffers from a debilitating disease. The illness causes her to vacillate between the Kingdom of Brilliance, in which she is sharp, creative, and full of life, and the Kingdom of Darkness, in which she suffers from deep despair. A healer has concocted a mixture of herbs that can help to alleviate the symptoms, but as much as Phoenix longs to rid herself of the depression, she adores the Kingdom Brilliance, the only time she feels truly alive. As she struggles with her illness, the 12 princesses of Faranor are also stricken with an unknown ailment or enchantment that causes them to dance their shoes to shreds every night and leaves their bodies wasting away. Physicians and enchanters are consulted to no avail. With the aid of a magic cloak, it is up to Phoenix to save the princesses and decide if she should continue treatment of her own illness. The story is well crafted and offers excellent insight into the life of an individual suffering from bipolar disorder. The two plots are deftly interwoven and never forced. Phoenix's growth as a young woman is fraught with half-starts and regressions, exactly like adolescents in our world. The prose is straightforward, yet maintains the fairy-tale essence of the setting. Calhoun has created a strong fantasy novel, complete with a well-rounded heroine suffering from a very real illness.–Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TX
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