Dance of Shadows

by Yelena Black

Overview

Vanessa has just enrolled in the world-renowned New York Ballet Academy-the same school from which her sister, Margaret, mysteriously disappeared.

Three years later, Vanessa follows in Margaret's footsteps to find out what happened to her. But when Vanessa lands the role most girls at NYBA would kill for, she ends up trapped in a sinister spiral of secrets that go beyond the dance world. Because someone-or something-wants to use Vanessa for more than her talent. Is she doomed to relive her sister's strange fate?

Riveting and sexy, Dance of Shadows is a psychological thriller you won't be able to resist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619631854
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	06/10/2014
Series:	Dance of Shadows
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

YELENA BLACK is a recent MFA graduate of Columbia University. She currently resides in New York City and is a full-time writer. She has a keen interest in dance and all things devilish.

Editorial Reviews

Black debuts with a paranormal twist on the hypercompetitive world of professional ballet school, first in a planned trilogy. When 15-year-old Vanessa Adler is accepted to the prestigious New York Ballet Academy, more awaits her than she expected, including a decades-long mystery of disappearing ballerinas, a hidden diary, sadistic rituals (upperclassmen demand a “blood sacrifice” from new recruits), and demonic possession. The novel swerves between thriller territory (will Vanessa discover whatever became of her vanished older sister?), coming-of-age angst (does sexy dancer Zeppelin Black consider Vanessa his girlfriend?), and customary dancer rivalries (why was Vanessa, a freshman, cast as lead in The Firebird?), with a romantic triangle, themes of dominance and submission, and a strained relationship between Vanessa and her mother also in the mix. Although the supporting cast is only superficially developed, the story gains traction as it focuses on otherworldly elements, including revelations of legends of demons called forth by means of a mysterious dance. Black pulls off an enticingly eerie conclusion, setting the stage for the next book. Ages 12–up. Agent: Michael Stearns and Ted Malawer, the Inkhouse. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Dance of Shadows is a wild dance that leaves you breathless, yet wanting more. I couldn't put it down.” —Alex Flinn, #1 NYT bestselling author of Beastly and Diva

“This debut novel is the first in a new series and is written so dynamically that the reader quickly becomes absorbed in the world of a highly competitive ballet academy combined with an occult element... The author has cleverly combined both worlds so that this book has appeal for both teen boys and girls." —VOYA, on Dance of Shadows"The novel swerves between thriller territory . . . coming-of-age angst . . . and customary dancer rivalries . . . with a romantic triangle, themes of dominance and submission, and a strained relationship between Vanessa and her mother also in the mix. . . . Black pulls off an enticingly eerie conclusion.” —BCCB, on Dance of Shadows

From the Publisher

Gr 8 Up—An ending that can't gracefully suspend disbelief follows a middle that drags on far too long in this paranormal ballet melodrama. The novel begins with sinister initiations, ravishing lead male dancers, and instant BFFs at the New York Ballet Academy, where Vanessa studies just three years after her sister disappeared during her tenure there. Ballet is a family tradition, but Vanessa's passion for dancing is not her deepest motivation for attending the school. She wants to find her sister, or at least learn what happened to her. Joseph, the school's temperamental, perfectionistic choreographer, has decided to try, once again, to stage Stravinsky's The Firebird, the same ballet that was canceled after Margaret vanished. Vanessa is distracted by gorgeous senior Zep, already cast as Prince Ivan, who seems to have eyes for her even though he is involved with senior queen-bee Anna. It seems a foregone conclusion that newcomer Vanessa will be his Firebird, despite her freshman status, but she remains unsettled by bizarre happenings, like dorm-friend Elly suddenly and untraceably leaving school. The strange basement practice room at adjacent Lincoln Center with burn marks on the floor and white outlines of dancers surrounded by ash on the walls creeps Vanessa out. Cryptic warnings from Justin, the third side of a love triangle, about the dangers of the school accompany plot developments that spin things from improbable to impossible. Secret conspiracies seeking dark power through dance and an ancient secret society to combat them finally pirouette the plot right off the stage. Not likely to receive standing ovations from any but the least demanding readers.—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

School Library Journal

An overheated debut mixes high-stakes ballet education with the occult. Fifteen-year-old Vanessa, though astonishingly gifted, didn't apply to the ultraprestigious New York Ballet Academy because she wants a career in dance--she did it in the hope of finding her older sister, Margaret, who disappeared from the school after being cast as the Firebird as a freshman three years ago. Once at NYBA, she draws the attention of choreographer Josef and two senior boys, the obnoxious Justin and the lustrous-eyed Zeppelin (a name so hilariously unballetic it could only have been meant ironically--except it seems not to be). It will surprise no one except the catty senior girls that Vanessa is cast as the Firebird, just as her sister was before….Vanessa's investigation proceeds in fits and starts; irritatingly, an early mystical warning she receives during a hazing incident is dropped. That she does not recall this while rehearsing the mysterious "Danse du Feu" in an underground studio whose charred walls are interrupted only by the white silhouettes of dancers, one of whom resembles Margaret and that sometimes seem to dance with her, will have readers grinding their teeth. A lengthy midsection devolves into a rushed and chaotic conclusion that turns out to be little more than a setup for a sequel. Care and attention to details of the ballet cannot compensate for slipshod plotting; both balletomanes and urban-fantasy fans should look elsewhere. (Urban fantasy. 13-16)

Kirkus Reviews