A MUST READ LOVABLE BOOK!
Rating:
5 / 5
I received this book when I was about 8 years old. I took one look at it and thought, "I am NOT going to read this. It's a BABY book!" I never touched the book again until 3 years later, when I was 11 years old, and decided just to try out the book. OMG! Was I wrong! This was not a baby book! The story of Rachel and Hilary Lennox and their lovable (in a villainy way)conceited cousin, Dulcie Wintle, is a charming book that every one (and I mean EVERYONE) will love.Rachel and Hilary come to live with their Aunt Cora, who runs a dancing (ballet, acrobatics, musical comedy, etc.) school, when their mother dies. Aunt Cora is set on making them both "little wonders" but Rachel finds that she disdains it, having no talent for those types of things. Hilary, however, finds that she loves it, and has a real talent for it, too! But Rachel doesn't want Hilary to be a "little wonder," let alone love it! Hilary was going to go to the Royal Ballet School of Dancing before their mother died, and Rachel is set on making her go after her mother's last words for her were to make sure Hilary went on with her dancing.
Misunderstandings will get in the way, as Hilary grows more and more with the "bad" type of dancing, becomes competition with Dulcie, and Rachel comes to find that dancing may not be her thing, but that doesn't mean that stage is not...
Dulcie -- my favorite childhood villain!
Rating:
5 / 5
I've always adored books set in England ... and it started with the Noel Streatfeild books that I devoured as a child. Of all of the Shoes books -- and believe me, twenty years ago I read every single one I could get my hands on -- this is still the best. The two heroines are so likable and yet so different from each other; Rachel is introspective and quiet, Hilary is vivacious and fun-loving. What this means is that every little girl reading it can identify with one or the other. Streatfeild is at her best when it comes the book's character development. Rachel's reaction to her mother's death, and her changing relationship with her sister, are very well-drawn and utterly convincing. Best of all, this book has Dulcie -- the character you love to hate. And every single person gets her comeuppance in the end; the reader's desire for poetic justice is fufilled in a most suprising but totally convincing way. It's a wonderfully satisfying read, and the kind of book that you can read again and again ... even as an adult.
Absolutely brilliant
Rating:
5 / 5
I can't remember when I first read 'Dancing Shoes' - judging by the writing in the front cover, I must have been pretty young - but I have never stopped loving it. Though my copy is now dog eared and I practically know it off by heart, I read it about once ever four months.It is the involved and moving tale of Rachel and Hilary, both ten years old when the book begins. Hilary was adopted by Rachel's parents when they were both four, and has always felt part of the family. She is a promsing ballet dancer (her real mother being one) but is lazy, and doesn't take the work seriously. Rachel, who is serious in everything she does, watches all of Hilary's lessons and keeps her working hard. Their father, a famous film star, died when they were seven. When the book opens, their mother has just died too, leaving them orphans. They are taken to live with Rachel's aunt and uncle, Cora Wintle and Tom Lennox. Aunt Cora, or Mrs. Wintle as she is commonly referred to, runs a stage school for children called Wintle's Wonders. Throughout the book she is mean, oppressive, selfish and cold hearted torwards first Rachel, and then Hilary. Uncle Tom is an artist, and the opposite of Cora. He nurtures Rachel, who feels misunderstood and out of place in a dancing school, and tries his hardest to make things better. Their spoilt cousin Dulcie is a brilliant dancer, and thoroughly conceited. Pursey is the kindly and fat house keeper who becomes their mother figure. 'Dancing Shoes' focuses on Rachel's trials and tribulations, mainly trials though, and how she reacts to the situations and characters around her. Everything about it will pull you in and make you feel like you're really living her life. Although at times it is heart breaking, it is suitable for children and adults of all ages. The ending is very fitting, even though it is somewhat bitter sweet. Please, do yourself a favour and buy this for yourself, your daughter, grand daughter, neice, cousin, sister... whatever. It is fantastic!
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