190th Post: Starred Kirkus Review

Kirkus Review, May 1, 2008
Starred Review
HOUSE OF DANCE
Beth Kephart
HarperTeen: Laura Geringer Books

In the summer of her 15th year, Rosie Keith shakily prepares for the death of her beloved Granddad. With her brooding mom preoccupied by an ill-advised love affair, Rosie is left to tend to the sorting of her granddad’s belongings and her own raw panic surrounding his impending demise. As the summer progresses, Rosie spends increasing amounts of time spinning her Granddad’s old records, making peace with his nurse (who traffics far too heavily in realism for Rosie’s liking) and taking dance lessons at a quirky studio. Like Kephart’s first offering for young adults, Undercover (2007), what stands out in this introspective novel is the sheer loveliness of its prose—“She had the longest tail I’d ever seen on a cat and pointy espionage ears, and she was all possession and presumption, guarding Granddad, who was asleep on the couch.” At once airy and languid, the sparse dialogue complements the lush descriptions of summer in the city. This is a beautifully told yet very quiet, small story. (Fiction. YA)