Healing Wounds: House of Dance by Beth Kephart

This book was not at all what I expected—with a title like House of Dance, it’s easy to assume that it might be just another story about a girl who wants to be a dancer. That wasn’t it AT ALL. And I’ll now eat my humble pie for judging a book by its cover…which I routinely do.

House of Dance is truly a gem of a book. Written in prose that is spare, lovely, raw, and haunting all at the same time, I frequently found tears coming to my eyes at this story about fifteen-year-old Rosie Keith, whose father left the family long ago, whose mother is drifting away emotionally, and whose grandfather is dying.

The book itself has a rhythm, a flow like a stately dance, as the days of Rosie’s summer pass with visits to her grandfather, helping sort the piles of books and ephemera in his house as his health slowly deteriorates. With each visit, she learns a bit more about the past that he rarely discussed before, and Rosie finds out about the vibrant, music- and dance-loving grandmother she never met. Meanwhile, her mother continues to avoid the situation entirely, spending long hours at work with her boss/receding-hairline paramour Mr. Paul.

And then Rosie finds her own secret to keep: the House of Dance, a ballroom dancing studio upstairs from the shops on the main street near her grandfather’s house. The whirling color and music plant the seeds of an idea that she hopes might bring some joy to her ailing grandfather… and, in the process, Rosie herself finds joy in surprising places, even in the midst of sorrow. A complex story, simply and vividly written and brimming with emotion. Gorgeous. Should appeal to older YAs and adult readers.

Buy House of Dance from an independent bookstore near you!