Descripción
Libro Entwined (libro en inglés). Sinopsis libro, reseña libro. Come and mend your broken hearts here. In this retelling of the classic tale «The Twelve Dancing Princesses,» the eldest princess must fight to save her family—and her heart—from an ancient dark magic within the palace walls. «Full of mystery, lush settings, and fully orbed characters, Dixon’s debut is both suspenseful and rewarding.»—ALA BooklistJust when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late. «Readers who enjoy stories of royalty, romance, and magic will delight in Dixon’s first novel.»—Publishers Weekly Supports the Common Core State Standards Libro Entwined (libro en inglés).
Anna –
I will begin this review the way all great reviews are begun. I will make a Mean Girls reference.
And that is to say, how do I even begin to explain Entwined?
I’ve grown accustomed to the constant shit storm that seems to blow my a way 90% of the time that I read a YA novel, so, suffice to say, I was more than surprised when reading Entwined.
The novel is based on the fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, or, The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces, but with, as all YA novels promise in their usually lacking summaries: A Special Twist!
I have come to fear the words, ‘a’, ‘special’, and ‘twist’, separately, but especially together. Because this usually tends to translate to: author-takes-cool-original-idea-and-mutilates-it. So when I discovered le special twist in Entwined, and got past the summary and began to understand what this book is actually about, I was sold.
To get to the point, Entwined takes the fairy tale, and adds some shit. The twelve princesses (all named after flowers and alphabetically from birth – a very helpful tool when it comes to remembering them all) lose their mother at the beginning of the book, catapulting them into mourning, making them even more distant to the King/Papa, and of course making them all very sad. But the real turning point is when you realize that because of mourning (which usually lasts for a year) no dancing is allowed. This is when shit gets real.
These girls love to dance. They love to dance. So this is simply one rule they will not abide, even if it means taking, er, magical passageways through their fireplace to break it. Enter plot, stage left.
So they meet this guy Creeper Keeper, and, well you know the rules. Too good to be true, etc., etc. Also, let me say how relieved I was when Keeper wasn’t a serious love interest. He is a crazy, sadistic fuck, and Dixon keeps it that way. I was also happily surprised by how quickly Azalea realized this, mainly because the protagonists reaction times in most YA novels to danger is worryingly slow. But not Azalea, nope. I adore her.
The plot moves swiftly along, allowing some things that should always happen in novels to take place. For example: Character Development. Ah, the characters. Definitely the best part of this book.
I loved every last one of the sisters. It’s hard to give twelve girls the same amount of page time and development, but I swear, you feel like you know every last one of them. I can still, months after finishing this book, recall all of their names and likes and dislikes and character traits. That is incredible. Dixon did, however, focus on the three eldest sisters (Azalea, Bramble, and Clover) primarily, but this is due to the accessibility/depth allowed by their relative maturity and–romance!
There is nothing that pisses me off more in YA novels or frankly any novel than cringe-y romances, so when I say I loved every last romantic subplot in this book, I mean I loved every last romantic subplot in this book. They’re perfectly subtle, and they’re endearing in well drawn ways; they are also perfect devices when it comes to the development of Azalea, Bramble, and Clover. Usually, I would be a bit hesitant about the romantic plot driving the young girls’ personal development, but it’s done thoughtfully here, and in no way favors the male characters or the girls’ connection to them over the girls themselves.
On a side note, I adored the Clover and Fairweller romance. Definitely my favorite one of the bunch. Something about them just got me, I’m not sure what it is exactly. Possibly because I’ve always had a major soft spot for romances with men like Fairweller? Very cold and composed (actually Dixon makes you suspect he might be a bad guy for a minute, which is fun) but when you see him with Clover he’s just…wonderful. And I’ve always loved relationships like that, where being with the person you love truly does make you a better and more likable person. It was very Austenian, as were many parts of the novel, and it’s a thematic homage Dixon does well. Also, he is a bit old for her, and I have a weird tendency to enjoy May-December romances (they may not be that far apart in age, though. From what Dixon tells us, Clover is in her mid-teens and Fairweller is probably in his mid-late twenties?) when done correctly. And it is. It’s done so perfectly well. And yes, I’m fangirling over these two, but I really do love them – every scene with them was a delight, as were the family members reactions to the relationship.
What I also loved about the romances is that they take a backseat to the princesses’ relationship with the King, which made me laugh, cry, and get goosebumps, sometimes all at the same time. Needless to say, it was just lovely.
The writing was also quite nice. It flowed smoothly, although it was a bit vague for my taste, lacking description at times, but I did enjoy that Heather Dixon wasn’t describing what everyone looked like and what clothes they were wearing every other page. The novel could also probably use some cutting, but I never found myself bored, so I guess that’s not the greatest crime.
To continue to ramble about characters I love, now: One great thing about all the girls is that they’re self-respecting and tough in their own ways. You mainly see this with Azalea, Bramble, and Clover, but it is definitely conveyed that none of these girls are absolute wall flowers (haha, pun!). For instance, Clover, shy, stuttering, beautiful Clover, stands her ground to Fairweller when it comes to their getting married (yes, I’m back on Clover and Fairweller). As much as she wants to elope with him, there is absolutely no way she’ll marry him unless her sisters are there. That was also a great part of that romance. I’m not a fan of of female character progression revolving around a man, but with Clover it was so well done. Especially when you find out that she has had a crush on him for years now (which I figured out pretty early on – there is a really delightful hint, actually – but I can see how you could miss it) and when she’s telling Azalea why she loves him and all the things he’s done for their family that are so loyal and how he’s really a very kind and generous person, oh, god, it was beautiful. I was just so darn endeared by this whole book, it was almost upsetting.
There are many moments like this that show strength of character with Azalea and Bramble as well, which, really, I could go on about for days. But yeah. Great characters.
Basically, just read this book. The world Dixon creates for you is beautiful and chilling, the characters are lively and interesting, and the prose is a cut above the rest (mainly in YA terms, but I’d say Dixon definitely has a knack for storytelling). I loved it, and plan on rereading it, possibly more than once.