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distant_ships's review against another edition
3.0
I actually read about the dancing plague and became weirdly obsessed with it (how? why? what happened???) so I knew I had to read this book which featured a retelling of it.
It didn't totally come together with me with the two storylines. I think I would have enjoyed sticking with the one in the past and having it more fully developed.
It didn't totally come together with me with the two storylines. I think I would have enjoyed sticking with the one in the past and having it more fully developed.
sheilafromhr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
heather1999's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
phoenixinthecity's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic retelling of The Red Shoes from 3 POVs over two timelines that span 5 centuries. We are first introduced to the girls: Rosella, whose family makes beautiful shoes in the present day; Lala, a Romani girl in 1508 Strasbourg, who meets Alifair, the trans boy that she will fall in love with; and finally Emil, the boy who’s Lala’s descendant in the present.
I read this with a sense of impending dread for Lala and Alifair as the fievre de la danse - an actual historical event(!) - overtook Strasbourg in 1518, which is echoed 500 years later when Rosella is overcome by a pair of red shoes she had stitched herself. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers but rest assured that there is a beautiful ending full of trans and queer joy.
A-M McLemore also wrote a trans remix of The Great Gatsby called Self-Made Boys which was just as brilliant a reimagining as Dark and Deepest Red.
I read this with a sense of impending dread for Lala and Alifair as the fievre de la danse - an actual historical event(!) - overtook Strasbourg in 1518, which is echoed 500 years later when Rosella is overcome by a pair of red shoes she had stitched herself. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers but rest assured that there is a beautiful ending full of trans and queer joy.
A-M McLemore also wrote a trans remix of The Great Gatsby called Self-Made Boys which was just as brilliant a reimagining as Dark and Deepest Red.
silas_a's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
mae_ogas's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
achilleanshelves's review against another edition
Not rating this one as it simply just wasn't for me! The writing was beautiful but I wasn't gripped enough by the story; the characters were interesting though and I encourage anyone who is intrigued by this book to check it out!
ameserole's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Wow. Wow.
If those three wow's don't say it all, well, just know that I adored absolutely everything about this book. I will even admit that the lack of chapters did annoy me in the very beginning. Mostly because I was listening to the audio book and when I do that I'm expecting to hear 'Chapter 1' and so on. Yet, I heard a date. A date that I wasn't going to remember because so much was already happening in the book.
Back to loving this book though. At one point, I stopped caring about not knowing where I was in the book (date or chapter wise). I just sat and enjoyed the adventure that I was going on. In the beginning, I met my spirit animal (Abuela) and just fell in love. She took zero shit from anyone in this book and I about died when she took the shoes and cut them in front of this customer. All because it was blasphemy that his daughter order red shoes instead of white. BLASPHEMY I TELL YA!
Besides that, you get to meet Rosella and Emil. Honestly, I loved them but Abuela was the apple of my eye. Rosella, the one with the awesome Abuela, and her family are shoemakers. Then there's Emil's family who is slightly connected to a curse. No big deal, right? Wrong. This curse alone is what brings these two closer together in hopes of understanding the origin and hopefully figuring out the cure.
The curse lies in red shoes that make you want to dance until you die. Kind of like that Hocus Pocus song. It doesn't sound that terrible to dance and dance. Maybe it would be if you were completely horrible at dancing or you are prone to injuries. Or maybe you just hate exercising in any way (unless it's opening a wine bottle?).
Then there's Lala, who unfortunately gets blamed for causing all this witchcraft due to the color of her skin. Racism at it's finest people. This reason alone made me love Lala's fire and spirt because she didn't just accept this accusation one bit. She fought and she fought hard.
This wasn't an easy journey by any means for any of these characters. There's discrimination, love, magic, and just an adventure that will open your eyes. I loved the diversity throughout this book and the romantic parts as well. I did kind of wish for more of it but I greatly appreciated what I got from this book.
In the end, this book was magical and I'm so happy that I added this to my TBR back in 2019. I can't wait to read the next book by Anna-Marie.
If those three wow's don't say it all, well, just know that I adored absolutely everything about this book. I will even admit that the lack of chapters did annoy me in the very beginning. Mostly because I was listening to the audio book and when I do that I'm expecting to hear 'Chapter 1' and so on. Yet, I heard a date. A date that I wasn't going to remember because so much was already happening in the book.
Back to loving this book though. At one point, I stopped caring about not knowing where I was in the book (date or chapter wise). I just sat and enjoyed the adventure that I was going on. In the beginning, I met my spirit animal (Abuela) and just fell in love. She took zero shit from anyone in this book and I about died when she took the shoes and cut them in front of this customer. All because it was blasphemy that his daughter order red shoes instead of white. BLASPHEMY I TELL YA!
Besides that, you get to meet Rosella and Emil. Honestly, I loved them but Abuela was the apple of my eye. Rosella, the one with the awesome Abuela, and her family are shoemakers. Then there's Emil's family who is slightly connected to a curse. No big deal, right? Wrong. This curse alone is what brings these two closer together in hopes of understanding the origin and hopefully figuring out the cure.
The curse lies in red shoes that make you want to dance until you die. Kind of like that Hocus Pocus song. It doesn't sound that terrible to dance and dance. Maybe it would be if you were completely horrible at dancing or you are prone to injuries. Or maybe you just hate exercising in any way (unless it's opening a wine bottle?).
Then there's Lala, who unfortunately gets blamed for causing all this witchcraft due to the color of her skin. Racism at it's finest people. This reason alone made me love Lala's fire and spirt because she didn't just accept this accusation one bit. She fought and she fought hard.
This wasn't an easy journey by any means for any of these characters. There's discrimination, love, magic, and just an adventure that will open your eyes. I loved the diversity throughout this book and the romantic parts as well. I did kind of wish for more of it but I greatly appreciated what I got from this book.
In the end, this book was magical and I'm so happy that I added this to my TBR back in 2019. I can't wait to read the next book by Anna-Marie.
24marsha's review against another edition
4.0
Super character driven book with 3 equal perspectives to give you the narrative. Historical fiction meets fantasy fiction. I wasn’t sure how I would like it but it definitely kept me interested and turning pages.
zoes_human's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
STRASBOURG 1518: The Dancing Plague strikes threatening two unwed Romani women in hiding.
500 YEARS LATER: A girl slides on a pair of beautiful red shoes only to find they cannot be removed and they force her to dance.
500 YEARS LATER: A girl slides on a pair of beautiful red shoes only to find they cannot be removed and they force her to dance.
The connection between these events must be found if the girl is to survive.