Book Review: Juliet Marillier’s Wildwood Dancing

Posted June 6, 2011 by Kathy Davie in Book Reviews, Young Adult readers

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wildwood Dancing


by

Juliet Marillier


First in the Wildwood fantasy series for Young Adult readers.

My Take

This is a lovely fairytale of a merchant family in Transylvania that had my hackles raised. How dare Cezar bully the girls, their servants, the villagers? How could no one see what was happening? How could they tolerate this? And Queen Ileana? I was appalled at her reaction to the girls’ warnings and yet her response made sense.

This tale’s events began when Costi, Cezar, and Jena were playing a game in the woods some years ago and each wanted a major role to play. It’s Costi’s dream that comes fatally true after a rescue attempt.

Life must progress and to take action against someone’s threats can create even larger problems. The kinds of problems Cezar was creating.

I loved the results of the traditional kiss of transformation; it was rather difficult not to see it coming if one pays attention to Jena’s dialogs with Gogu. And how very useful that turned out to be for Jena, having a witness to most of her life.

Excellent, excellent story that was extremely difficult to put down.

The Story

Their father ill, he must evacuate to a warmer city if he is to have a chance at the life, the cold of their home threatening to take it.

Inheriting, Cezar begins to exert his power over his uncle Teodor’s family. Finally, someone would take control over their unorthodox education and the indulgences granted them by their father . . .indulgences that were beyond what was proper. This was Cezar’s chance to force the girls to learn proper behavior as he took over their lives.

Taking the account books from Jena, lodging complaints against Paula’s tutor so that the church removed Father Sandu from his post, removing the merchandise stored at Piscul Dracului. Cezar also had his eye on Jena and taking away her pet frog, Gogu. Jena he wanted for himself. The frog. Well, the frog was not a proper pet for a girl/woman. Even worse, Cezar wanted to destroy the Other World hating it for taking his brother, Costi, away from him.

The girls are angry, furious, and powerless against Cezar. Their messages to their father don’t seem to be getting through to him — it is Cezar’s messengers taking their letters after all.

They can only warn Ileana and her people of Cezar’s plans. And those plans and the rest of Cezar’s tyranny are only a part of Jena’s worries for Tati has fallen in love with Sorrow. Terrified of Sorrow and his influence on her sister, Jena struggles to learn more of Sorrow’s role with these blood-sucking creatures.

The Characters

Teodor, a merchant, is a tolerant man who indulges his five daughters — Tatiana “Tati”, Jenica “Jena“, Paula, Iulia, and Stela in education and speaking their minds with Jena helping her father with his business by keeping the accounts. Gogu is a frog found almost dead in the forest. Father Sandu is Paula’s tutor. Piscul Dracului is the name of their home.

Costi, the eldest and brother to Cezar, are the girls’ cousins. Nicolae is their father, the girls’ uncle (who dies in a hunting accident, leaving Cezar to inherit).

Ileana, queen of the Wildwood, grants the girls a favor for life. Sorrow is a member of the Night People’s court.

The Cover and Title

The cover is very Patricia McKillip with its jeweled tones depicting the dancing in the Wildwood and its lacquered effect giving the whole a fairytale feel.

The title is but one of the girls’ indulgences, Wildwood Dancing.