Flights of fantasy

Set in Transylvania, Wildwood Dancing tells the story of 15-year-old Jena and her four sisters. They live in Piscul Dracului, an old castle on the edge of an enchanted wood. Jena is left to manage the family business and care for her sisters when their father leaves home to recover from illness in warmer climes.

This is Juliet Marillier’s first novel for young adults. Her previous work includes the Sevenwaters Trilogy and The Bridei Chronicles. Marillier creates an exotic, magical world in Wildwood Dancing yet imbues it with enough elements of the human world that I began to believe that this could be our world, just with secrets and places that most of us aren’t privy to.

Jena and her sisters have discovered a portal through which they can travel to the Other Kingdom on the evening of full moon. There they take part in the celebrations at Dancing Glade overseen by the forest queen, Ileana. The wood is home to all manner of creatures including dwarves, fairies and the powerful witch, Draguta. Such fairytale type creatures may make you think that this story is for children only however that’s far from being the case. Marillier’s world is sophisticated and complex with all of its inhabitants possessing a dignity and realism that lead me, as an adult reader, to simply accept this other world without a hint of scepticism. Like The Hobbit and the Narnia Chronicles, Wildwood Dancing can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

Sometimes in the fantasy genre a writer can get so caught up in creating a different world in which to set their tale that there’s not enough focus on character development and as a result the characters are left wanting. Marillier avoids this pitfall and creates characters that are rich and multi-dimensional. She doesn’t condescend to her audience by depicting black and white, all good or all bad characters and this is really the strength of Wildwood Dancing; it takes the story to a level of reality where parallels can be drawn with our own world and in which the reader can recognise themselves and people they know in Marillier’s story.

Wildwood Dancing is a delightful story of adventure, sisterhood and love set in another world you wish you could visit. It’s a page-turner that is sure to be a hit with teenagers and adults alike. The only thing that Wildwood Dancing is lacking is a sequel.

Karin van Heerwaarden

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Wildwood Dancing

Author: Juliet Marillier
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Price: $16.95