Entwined
by Heather Dixon
Published: March 29, 2011
Genres: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Retelling, Young Adult
Format: eBook (472 pages)
Source: Purchased
Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And 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 . . .
A perfect re-telling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. It followed the overall story line of the Grimm’s fairytale, but the details were original and interesting. It was charming the way that you imagine fairy tales should be. It had magic, but at the same time, evil lurks just around the corner. As I was reading, my deja-vous would tickle a little at familiar elements in the story. In my mind, Heather Dixon masterfully took all the best elements of some well-know fairy tales and made them her own. Certain details in the story vaguely reminded me of The Sound of Music, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Princess Bride, Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s Aladdin and even Disney’s Tangled. I challenge you to pick out the little details that come from these amazing stories! Maybe you’ll even see some references I didn’t.
While it was filled with fantasy, the story was really about a family and their relationships. I grew up with sisters so I related a lot to the 12 princesses not being able to stand each other one minute and being inseparable the next. Their struggle to understand their father was so heart-breaking. Heather managed to characterize all 12 princesses and make them feel so real and interesting. Entwined left me surprised as well as all happy and tingly inside.
Content Rating: Mild, for some mild violence.
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
I’ve been meaning to get this one for a while now it sounds really cute!
Giselle
Xpresso Reads
So glad I stopped in today–that Grimm story was one of my faves when I was a kid! I’m going to have to check out this book :) Thanks Jessica!
I just picked this one up the other day when B&N had it on sale for the nook. Looking forward to reading it even more now that I’ve read your great review. Thanks, Shari over at My Neurotic Book Affair
Oh! Your review makes me want this one so bad, although I’ve never read/heard the Grimm tale of the 12 Dancing Princesses. I wonder if it would make my reading experience better if I read the Grimm tale first.
I read the Grimm fairy tale before I read this book and it was interesting to compare and contrast and see what changes Heather Dixon made. The fairy tale is really short. I would recommend reading it first :)