Yelena Black’s Dance of Shadows presents a premise ripe with potential: the intense world of ballet colliding with a supernatural mystery of vanishing dancers and demonic entities. This Young Adult novel should have been a thrilling blend of dedication and dark secrets, but unfortunately, the execution pirouettes disastrously off-stage. Instead of a captivating performance, readers are left with a story so poorly crafted it becomes unintentionally comical. This review will delve into why Dance of Shadows fails to stick the landing, examining its flaws in plausibility, character development, pacing, and overall plot construction.
A Premise Undone by Poor Execution
The book begins with a prologue depicting a ballerina, Chloe, succumbing to an unseen force mid-performance and disappearing – a clear indicator of supernatural involvement. We then transition to our protagonist, 15-year-old Vanessa Adler, newly enrolled at the prestigious New York Ballet Academy (NYBA). Vanessa is portrayed as a prodigy, a dancer of effortless talent who loses herself in the dance, yet ironically, she harbors a lack of genuine passion for ballet. Her true motivation for attending NYBA is to unravel the mystery of her sister Margaret’s disappearance three years prior, a vanishing act that occurred as Margaret was poised to perform the coveted Firebird ballet.
Vanessa’s talent quickly lands her the lead in the Firebird, a role steeped in ominous history at NYBA. She soon discovers a chilling pattern: for two decades, dancers associated with the Firebird have vanished without a trace. When another friend disappears, Vanessa is forced to confront the unsettling reality of her situation and investigate the dark secrets lurking within the hallowed halls of the academy. This setup promises intrigue and suspense, but the narrative stumbles through a series of missteps that ultimately undermine any potential for genuine engagement.
Plausibility Takes a Nosedive
For a narrative set within the confines of the nation’s “finest school,” Dance of Shadows suffers from a staggering lack of plausibility. The central mystery hinges on the repeated disappearances of students over twenty years. Astonishingly, this pattern goes unnoticed and unaddressed by the institution. No connections are drawn, no investigations launched, creating a gaping hole in the narrative’s credibility. It strains belief that a prestigious academy would exhibit such negligence in the face of recurring student disappearances.
Adding to the absurdity is the figure of Josef Zhalkovsky, the school’s domineering choreographer. He is presented as a tyrannical figure, berating students for lacking knowledge of routines they haven’t even been taught. The climax of the novel sees Zhalkovsky himself vanish, yet the school’s reaction is one of baffling indifference. This lack of institutional concern for both student safety and staff disappearance further erodes the believability of the NYBA setting. One expects higher standards, professionalism, and basic concern from such an esteemed institution, but Dance of Shadows presents a school environment bordering on the farcical.
Rushed Relationships and Stilted Character Arcs
The novel’s weaknesses extend to character development and relationship building. Vanessa swiftly acquires a close circle of friends upon arrival and an equally rapid set of “Mean Girl” antagonists – stereotypical cliques materialize instantly. When a friend vanishes, the pronouncements of “she’d never do this” ring hollow, given the superficial depth of these nascent friendships. This issue is exacerbated by the novel’s uneven pacing.
The majority of the book languishes in tedious details – descriptions of attire and mundane academy life – while crucial elements like relationship development and character arcs are rushed through at breakneck speed. The romantic relationships are particularly egregious. Vanessa’s connection with Zeppelin, saddled with arguably one of the worst character names in literary history, is a prime example of insta-love. An initial glance is enough to trigger declarations of soulmate recognition: “It already felt like they were intimate, that they had known, maybe even loved, each other in some previous life.” Such pronouncements, rather than depicting naive infatuation, simply highlight the lack of nuanced character development.
The second love interest, Justin, fares no better. He adopts the trope of the arrogant, cryptic savior. In one bewildering scene, after Justin is rude to Vanessa, a friend interprets his behavior as: “He looked like he wanted to kill you. Or throw you against the wall and make out with you.” This bizarre conflation of aggression and attraction exemplifies the novel’s clumsy handling of romantic tension. Justin’s attempts to “save” Vanessa involve being consistently unhelpful, offering cryptic warnings and telling her to go away without providing any substantive explanation. Considering Vanessa’s central role in a demonic plot, the lack of clear communication is not just frustrating but illogical. Both characters know Vanessa’s driving motivation is to find her sister, yet meaningful information is withheld, hindering both plot progression and character credibility. Vanessa’s own investigation into her sister’s disappearance, the very reason for her presence at NYBA, takes a backseat to these underdeveloped romantic entanglements.
A Plot Sabotaged by its Prologue
Perhaps the most significant flaw in Dance of Shadows is its self-sabotaging plot. The prologue explicitly reveals the supernatural element, immediately dispelling any mystery for the reader. This preemptive revelation eradicates any potential tension or suspense that could have been built around the disappearances. Instead, readers are forced to endure Vanessa’s prolonged cluelessness regarding the supernatural nature of events. The central conflict becomes Vanessa’s slow realization of “What Is Happening,” a question already answered for the audience from page one. This creates a frustrating reading experience, as the reader is perpetually ahead of the protagonist, waiting for her to catch up to information already provided.
When the supernatural “why” is finally unveiled, it descends into outright absurdity. The explanation involves “NECRODANCERS” – dancers who can harness dance for nefarious purposes, summoning demons for vaguely defined “REASONS.” This revelation is compounded by the existence of a secret underground dance group named “THE LYRIC ELITE.” At this point, the narrative veers into unintentional parody. The escalating ridiculousness makes it difficult to take the plot seriously, culminating in a dénouement that elicits laughter rather than suspense or satisfaction.
Final Curtain Call: A Performance to Forget
Dance of Shadows ultimately squanders a promising premise through a combination of implausible scenarios, underdeveloped characters, uneven pacing, and a plot structure that undermines its own mystery. The book’s attempts at blending ballet and the supernatural result in a narrative that is more laughable than engaging. While the initial concept held potential, the execution falls spectacularly short, leaving readers with a reading experience characterized by frustration and unintentional humor. Dance of Shadows is a cautionary tale in storytelling, a reminder that a compelling premise is only as strong as its execution.
