Dancing Through the Shadows [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1997 | Age Level: 11 and up

Into the pattern of Ellen's days, filled with dance practice and vacation plans, comes an unwelcome surprise: her mother has breast cancer. Suddenly her family's life hinges on endless rounds of hospital visits and support groups, cancer nurses and chemotherapy. Ellen learns to cope with her mother's illness as she helps uncover an ancient secret that holds special meaning for her. As they work and learn together, her friends and teachers guide her through her own healing process shaped by life-giving water and life-affirming dance. In Dancing Through the Shadows, Theresa Tomlinson describes a family faced with a devastating crisis. In her sensitive handling of the topic she has written an exceptionally heart-warming and hopeful novel.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Life is wonderful! Ellen prepares for a family vacation and has just been picked to dance in a special performance at school. All of the glitter and hope in her life comes crashing down, though, when Ellen learns that her mother has breast cancer. In a rare yet necessary novel, Theresa Tomlinson waxes frankly about what it is like for young people when a parent is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Readers will witness Ellen's selfishness, worry, and--ultimately--her courage, as she begins to process her mother's condition.

Poignantly woven into the tale is the story of the uncovering of an ancient healing spring on Ellen's school grounds. At first Ellen and her chums think the spring is just a muddy, fetid, trash-strewn bog. It takes courage to trust their teacher and believe that with some earnest muscle power they could reclaim the spring. In Dancing Through the Shadows metaphors run strong and wild, just like a healing brook. Through uncovering the muddy bog, Ellen gathers the strength necessary to be of real support to her mother. Lovely, refreshing, and just what the doctor ordered in great literature for teens.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10. One young woman's odyssey through adolescence after her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer is the subject of this British novel. Ellen is a prickly, but fundamentally normal teenager whose solipsistic universe is rocked by her mother's illness. The family's ordeal is realistically depicted as the woman first undergoes a lumpectomy and then must undergo both chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The family's stages of denial, grief, and acceptance are well drawn. Ellen finds the strength to face her mother's illness and mortality through her loving and supportive family, her friends, and her involvement in her school's dance program. A subplot has Ellen and a friend helping their eccentric history teacher unearth an ancient well near their school. Dubious about the project at first, Ellen finds it to be an important distraction. She learns that natural wells in the British countryside have historically been regarded as sources of life and renewal and were purported to have healing powers. The well becomes a life-affirming symbol for both the teen and her mother. This is a quiet, thoughtful story, and readers who have experienced a serious illness in their family will respond to Ellen's fears and uncertainties. The nicely interwoven archaeology and dance elements may also attract additional readers.?Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; First Printing edition (September 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789424592
• ISBN-13: 978-0789424594
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,492,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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