Reviewed by The Compulsive Reader for TeensReadToo.com
Rosie Keith is in for a long summer. Her friends are all scattered for the three months at various jobs and camps, and her mother is hardly ever home, preferring to spend time with her business partner, who is also the man she is having an affair with. So Rosie turns to her grandfather, who is dying of cancer.
During those long summer days, she helps Granddad clean through his multitudes of possessions, placing things to keep In Trust. It is on one of those day she discovers The House of Dance, and begins taking lessons there, hoping to put In Trust again a few of Granddad's long-ago memories before he is gone for good.
HOUSE OF DANCE is a distinct and intense look at Rosie's life, her losses, and how her family reacts to same. Kephart's words are lyrical and her incisive style propels the reader easily through the book. Her in-depth look at illness and foreshadowing of death are very realistic and heartfelt. You will find yourself relating easily to Rosie, and admiring her strength in this wonderfully crafted novel.
Rosie Keith is in for a long summer. Her friends are all scattered for the three months at various jobs and camps, and her mother is hardly ever home, preferring to spend time with her business partner, who is also the man she is having an affair with. So Rosie turns to her grandfather, who is dying of cancer.
During those long summer days, she helps Granddad clean through his multitudes of possessions, placing things to keep In Trust. It is on one of those day she discovers The House of Dance, and begins taking lessons there, hoping to put In Trust again a few of Granddad's long-ago memories before he is gone for good.
HOUSE OF DANCE is a distinct and intense look at Rosie's life, her losses, and how her family reacts to same. Kephart's words are lyrical and her incisive style propels the reader easily through the book. Her in-depth look at illness and foreshadowing of death are very realistic and heartfelt. You will find yourself relating easily to Rosie, and admiring her strength in this wonderfully crafted novel.
