Mundie Moms

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Dance of Shadows Guest Post: An Exclusive Diary Entry from Margaret

I'm thrilled to be able to share an exclusive diary entry from Margaret, who's from Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black.



[Sunday, September 4 evening]
Dear Diary,

Orientation was … interesting.

We met Hilda, the dance mistress. She’s short and stumpy and used to be a ballerina in Paris, of all places. I don’t get it—in her brown dress, she looked like the only role she could play on stage would be a tree. Or a tree stump. Then Josef, the resident choreographer, introduced himself. He’s dreamy, really magnetic. Too bad he’s old, like, maybe, thirty-five. Très charmant!

During orientation, I was watching some of the other girls here: Anna Franko and Chloe Martin. They’re really pretty. Like, really really pretty. Like would make the girls on ANTM look skanky. They live on the same hall that I do, two doors down, and they already seem like BFFs. And I don’t think they knew each other before getting here, either. I just suppose Evil Wenches recognize one another when they meet up in the real world. How do I know they’re Evil Wenches? There are always signs, Dear Diary. Maybe one day I’ll create a list in here, like a scientific taxonomy. (See? I did my required summer reading.)

Maddy and I definitely aren’t BFFs. She’s already covered her bed with stuffed animals (srsly), and, at orientation, she started having an asthma attack and had to use her inhaler. I don’t even know how she’s a dancer.

Anna and Chloe, on the other hand, are amazing. I haven’t seen them dance yet, but I can just tell. They have the lithe sort of willowy bodies that all the best dancers have, so it looks like it comes easy to them. My body has never come easily to me … it takes dedication and hard work and lots of not eating cake to look like I do.

There is already a stink of competition in the air—that much is clear. At the orientation, everyone was sizing up everyone else. I swear, if the electricity had gone out, we’d probably have found a couple of corpses when the lights came back up—the looks were that intense.

I’m not sure if the girls in my class (there are ten of us in total) are going to love me or want to get rid of me. This won’t be the first time I’ve dealt with jealous girls who’ve already decided they hate me based on what roles I get and how teachers praise me, but I was hoping things would be different here. Better.

The boys are equally hard to predict. Many of them are probably gay. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course, but in terms of dating prospects for me … not so great. There are two who stand out: Zeppelin Black and Justin Cooke.

Zeppelin—Zep, for short—is the sort of handsome that makes girls want to lose their virginity. He has these amazing gray eyes, and he’s tall and powerful. Kind of rough-looking. But to be honest, I’m more interested in Justin, who looks handsome in the kind of way where maybe he doesn’t realize how handsome he is. And that’s only in my class. I haven’t had a chance to check out the upperclassmen yet.

But I am not going to let boys distract me. I need to focus on my dancing and make sure that I’m the best that I can possibly be.

You see, Dearest Diary, I am going to be the most famous ballerina in the entire world. I know that must make me sound like I’m ten instead of fifteen, but … it’s true.

Heading to bed now … more soooon!

xoxo,
Margaret



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Be sure to stop back by the blog to read the second entry we'll be sharing on 12/14. You can read my review for Dance of Shadows here.

About the Book:
By: Yelena Black
Published by: Bloomsbury Teens
To Be Released on: February 12th, 2013
Series: Dance of Shadows #1


Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts . . .

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . . 

Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Josh, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed - quoted from Goodreads

Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author:


Yelena Black is a recent MFA graduate of Columbia University. She currently resides in New York City and is a full-time writer. She has a keen interest in dance and all things devilish.

Follow Yelena via her Website | Twitter | Facebook

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