Come and mend your broken hearts here. In this retelling of the classic tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” the eldest princess must fight to save her family—and her heart—from an ancient dark magic within the palace walls. “Full of mystery, lush settings, and fully orbed characters, Dixon’s debut is both suspenseful and rewarding.”—ALA Booklist
Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. 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. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late. “Readers who enjoy stories of royalty, romance, and magic will delight in Dixon’s first novel.”—Publishers Weekly
Supports the Common Core State Standards
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 1/5
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Language - /5
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Drugs and Alcohol - /5
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Summary
Azalea and her 11 sisters live in their once beautiful home and abide the strict rules their father, the king enforces. He is cold but not heartless and unfortunately is the only person they have besides each other. There has been tension between Azalea and her father ever since her mother's passing and the very first day of the next year that is to be spent in mourning. Luckily there is still magic left in the castle and the princesses find escape dancing late into the night through a secret passage. The
man there, Keeper, is very generous but for the fact that he likes to keep things. As the king calls in suitors from all over to solve the mystery of the worn dancing slippers, the princesses begin noticing changes in the Keeper's intentions and they are not for the better. (Rani)
Violence Only moderate violence like fights
sexual content: no sex