Long Night Dance

An original and haunting tale set in a uniquely imagined world with mythic and folkloric overtones. Readers will empathize with the heroine's awaking as a young woman, her search for self understanding, and the difficult choices and decisions she must make. I couldn't help but see the movie of LONG NIGHT DANCE in my mind's eye--a visual and mood driven feast! Though I'm no longer a children's librarian, I still love pushing good books into people's hands, and this one went to my fourteen year old niece.

As a children's librarian, I have to say this is one of the best books I've ever read. It is elegant, and as compelling to a middle aged woman as to a teen. I have a curiosity upon discovering it's part of a series, but unlike other books where I'm eager for more, my self is still after reading this. it is complete on it's own, like kat discovers.

I found this story to be compelling and a definite page-turner. Betsy James is a visual writer and her beautifully written story unfolded for me like a movie playing out in my minds eye. Through her descriptive words I felt a kinship to Kat as though I were right there with her through out the book. I felt the cold on the beach as Kat is moved through the dark to the seashore. I sensed the darkness within her compassionless home. I saw myself dancing the Snake Dance along with the others around the fire at the Long Night Dance. As a forty-year-old woman I still related to 15-year-old Kat's experience of longing to know who she is. Isn't that the goal we all share? And the depth of Kat's emotions reminded me of the intensity of my own first love. And I cheered Kat on in finding the inner strength that she needed to do the right thing. This is a book for women of all ages much like The Red Tent, and Mists of Avalon. I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy.

As I read the first page of this amazing book I was immediately pulled into Kat's world. This whole book has a distinct flavor. It is lonely, and haunting yet manages not to be depressing. One of my favorite parts is the Rigi's song. After I had read this book the first time(my eyes were glued to the pages and I finished it in one night) I just couldn't set it down . That same night I memorized the whole of the Rigi's song( it was about 2:00 am.) I just love the part when she stands above the sea and shouts the song into the wind. Betsy James does an amazing job of picking EXACTLY the right words to describe a scene or feeling. Wonderful book!!! If you enjoyed reading Long Night Dance you might like Quest For A Maid (though it's a bit slow paced) and A Stranger Came Ashore (a slightly more traditional ,though just as haunting, tale of the Rigi or Selkie.

This is one of those books that you read and then spend the rest of your life trying to find again. Kat is a character that resonated with me when I was her age, and now that I am older, she still enthralls me. Her journey to find herself, unlike many other coming of age books, is so delicately nuanced that you never feel as if you are being taught about life, just experiencing it. This story, which continues in Dark Heart, is as windswept and brooding as the land it takes place in, but admist all the hardship Kat struggles to assert herself and her womanhood. Anyone who has ever fought to be allowed to be true to herself (or himself) will find a companion in Kat.