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More on Entwined (totally spoilery)
Nov. 1st, 2011 02:44 pmI read this recently and thought my girls would like it, so I've been chugging down the book aloud, trying to finish before it's due at the library. I'm happy to report that we finished it, and my girls LOVED it. I'd set it at a tween level, about the same range as Shannon Hale's books--it's younger-accessible (any kissing is definitely from a MG perspective rather than an edgy YA), but there are a couple of images that hit a little older (what a certain person supposedly does to the souls he takes, for example--kind of like the button eyes in Coraline, that are somehow extremely creepy.)
Like I said, this is a SPOILERY post, so don't read if you haven't read the book or don't like spoilers.
The book seemed to be a light, fun retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses on the surface, but the more you read, the more there is, and I really liked that. And I find myself thinking about it after closing the cover, because it IS more than just a retelling. There are two kind of important subtexts running through it, and they dovetail almost in a chiastic pattern (Hebrew poetry form that is shaped like an hourglass, for want of a shorter explanation.) When the book starts, the dad--ahem, the King--is the bad guy. He can't bear his daughters. He forbids everything in the name of mourning--especially dancing, which is the ONE thing that helps the girls bear the loss of their beloved mother, who has just died. He cares more about rules than his family. They don't even call him Papa--he's the King, or Sir. Really, where has this man been for the birth of his TWELVE daughters?? He rides off to war and doesn't even bother to say goodbye, and from all appearances he can't stand his children and wants to skive off as soon as possible.
Enter Keeper--a lithe, handsome, mysterious man who's trapped in the castle--much like the girls who face a year of mourning--who promptly invites them to dance at his secret pavilion any time they want. He's attractive, he's sympathetic, and he has that edge of possible danger that seems oh, so everpresent in YA lit right now. He's also just the tiniest bit controlling. He appears to leave choices up to the girls--except for a few snatches of stranding them on a bridge to force them to listen to him. Or keeping personal items they drop, and not giving them back. Or inventing a dance where the gentleman partner is supposed to catch the lady--it sounds rather like a game, except that it's kind of creepy when you think about it. Kind of like the idea that a proper boyfriend should be elegant, mysterious--and controlling. Creepy.
The King eventually returns, and then things get interesting. Because Azalea, the oldest daughter (and main character) starts to realize Keeper's creepiness at the same time that she starts to realize she hasn't given her father much of a chance. Yes, there's the wonderful Mr. Bradford in there who is exactly what a love interest SHOULD be, and the romance there isn't any *less*--but the real relationship foils are the ones with the King and Keeper. Both with the King and Mr. Bradford, we see how you both have to give and forgive and stretch to make a relationship work. The difference between doing that with a controlling person and a good person is their intentions, and the King's and Mr. Bradford's are good, whereas Keeper definitely has his own agenda, and it has nothing to do with the girls' welfare.
I don't think books should be didactic, and this one certainly wasn't--but it's likewise impossible to tell a story that doesn't have some sort of subtext that creeps in, just because the author comes to the story with a certain set of beliefs and experiences and way of understanding the world. So--I'm not calling for books with check! 27 Preachy Values!. But I do think that the bit of worldview a reader who is figuring out what healthy, real relationships are about is going to come away with a much better idea from this book than one where the MC sells out for the Bad Boy. I know, it's *just* a book. But it might be a drop toward helping someone recognize and avoid a controlling relationship someday, you know?
Like I said, this is a SPOILERY post, so don't read if you haven't read the book or don't like spoilers.
The book seemed to be a light, fun retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses on the surface, but the more you read, the more there is, and I really liked that. And I find myself thinking about it after closing the cover, because it IS more than just a retelling. There are two kind of important subtexts running through it, and they dovetail almost in a chiastic pattern (Hebrew poetry form that is shaped like an hourglass, for want of a shorter explanation.) When the book starts, the dad--ahem, the King--is the bad guy. He can't bear his daughters. He forbids everything in the name of mourning--especially dancing, which is the ONE thing that helps the girls bear the loss of their beloved mother, who has just died. He cares more about rules than his family. They don't even call him Papa--he's the King, or Sir. Really, where has this man been for the birth of his TWELVE daughters?? He rides off to war and doesn't even bother to say goodbye, and from all appearances he can't stand his children and wants to skive off as soon as possible.
Enter Keeper--a lithe, handsome, mysterious man who's trapped in the castle--much like the girls who face a year of mourning--who promptly invites them to dance at his secret pavilion any time they want. He's attractive, he's sympathetic, and he has that edge of possible danger that seems oh, so everpresent in YA lit right now. He's also just the tiniest bit controlling. He appears to leave choices up to the girls--except for a few snatches of stranding them on a bridge to force them to listen to him. Or keeping personal items they drop, and not giving them back. Or inventing a dance where the gentleman partner is supposed to catch the lady--it sounds rather like a game, except that it's kind of creepy when you think about it. Kind of like the idea that a proper boyfriend should be elegant, mysterious--and controlling. Creepy.
The King eventually returns, and then things get interesting. Because Azalea, the oldest daughter (and main character) starts to realize Keeper's creepiness at the same time that she starts to realize she hasn't given her father much of a chance. Yes, there's the wonderful Mr. Bradford in there who is exactly what a love interest SHOULD be, and the romance there isn't any *less*--but the real relationship foils are the ones with the King and Keeper. Both with the King and Mr. Bradford, we see how you both have to give and forgive and stretch to make a relationship work. The difference between doing that with a controlling person and a good person is their intentions, and the King's and Mr. Bradford's are good, whereas Keeper definitely has his own agenda, and it has nothing to do with the girls' welfare.
I don't think books should be didactic, and this one certainly wasn't--but it's likewise impossible to tell a story that doesn't have some sort of subtext that creeps in, just because the author comes to the story with a certain set of beliefs and experiences and way of understanding the world. So--I'm not calling for books with check! 27 Preachy Values!. But I do think that the bit of worldview a reader who is figuring out what healthy, real relationships are about is going to come away with a much better idea from this book than one where the MC sells out for the Bad Boy. I know, it's *just* a book. But it might be a drop toward helping someone recognize and avoid a controlling relationship someday, you know?
