Dancing+on+the+Edge


 * Dancing On the Edge**

Dancing on the Edge by Han Nolan is a story about a girl named Miracle McCloy. She lives with her grandmother, Gigi, who believes in the world of spirits and says she is psychic. Miracle was born from the dead body of her mother. Her dad, Dane, disappears one day when she is ten years old. After Dane disappears, Gigi decides that they are going to go live with Miracle’s grandfather for a while. Her grandfather helps Miracle learn how to ride a bike and signs her up for secret dance lessons, but when Gigi finds out, she forbids her to dance. After Miracle’s grandfather has a heart attack she goes to live with her Aunt Casey. Miracle starts to believe that her father’s disappearance is her fault. Without being able to dance, Miracle feels like she is not important and not a real person, she becomes lonely, so she does something awful to test herself and see if she really exists. In part two of the book it talks about Miracle’s stay in the psychiatric area of a hospital where she must learn how to face herself and the existence of her life. This National book Award Winner is exciting and surprising. This book really makes you want Miracle to be happy and at times is hard to put down. It can occasionally be strange, but there are a few unexpected surprises that will make you want to keep reading. Dancing on the Edge might not be the best book you will ever read, yet I would recommend it. - Cassi Formolo

Reply- //Dancing on the Edge// seems like a good book and even though I own the book I have not yet read it. I can't wait though. Your description makes the book sound very exciting and I am so glad that this book had twists, turns and surprises that kept you on the end of your seat. Dancing on the Edge sounds like a great book to read but still it seems sad how everyone is leaving her, her parents, grandfather and I don't know anyone else but from that you can already tell that she has had a hard life. Even though you said that Miracle thinks that the disappearance of her father is her fault I don't know why that is in her head but soon I will find out. When you say that the book really wants Miracle to be happy, I hope in the end she will be, that she will be able to dance if she would like, and be able to be happy with her father. In part II of Dancing on the Edge you said Miracle has to stay in a psychiatric area of the hospital because she needs to learn how to face herself and the existence of her life, this reminds me of books that I have read where characters have to live in hospitals to learn and take care of themselves. When you say the book is strange, I hope that is not one of the reasons you didn't think this was the best book. I know you have read a lot of books and this does not have to be your favorite but there is this book called //So Be It// and it is a quick read but I really enjoyed it when I read it. Well I am glad that you at least liked your book and hope you read So Be It if you already haven't. Thanks for getting me more inspired to read Dancing on the Edge! Thanks again- Jeannie Peters

Review by Aleda Deuble**
 * Dancing on the Edge

The contemporary fiction book //Dancing on the Edge// by Han Nolan has a very good story line and is easy to read. The main character is a teenage girl named Miracle who is being raised by her grandmother, Gigi, and her father, Dane. //Dancing on the Edge// takes place in modern times and has four main settings: Miracle’s grandparent’s homes, the dance studio where Miracle learns to dance, and the hospital where Miracle is sent when her legs catch on fire. At the beginning of the book, Miracle lives with GiGi and Dane. Miracle got her name because her mother was in an accident and died before giving birth to her, but Miracle survived. Gigi is a medium, and the family believes in the supernatural. One day Miracle and GiGi find out that Dane has disappeared. Because of the position of his clothes on the floor, they assume he has melted. They then move in with GiGi’s ex-husband, Granddaddy Opal. Since GiGi is rarely ever home because of her job as a medium, Granddaddy Opal and Miracle are able to build a relationship. Granddaddy Opal realizes that Miracle loves to dance and signs her up for classes without Gigi knowing. Gigi does not want Miracle to dance, but she will not explain why. As the book goes on, Miracle gets made fun of because people think she is very odd to believe that her father melted. Then one day Miracle tries to melt to prove to everyone that she is telling the truth about Dane. She lights candles all around her, but her legs accidentally catch on fire. Her family thinks that she has done this on purpose, and they send her to a mental health unit in the hospital so she can get special help. While Miracle is in therapy with her Aunt Casey, who assumes guardianship over her, she discovers the big family secret that has been kept from her all these years and explains her past. The main theme in //Dancing on the Edge// is the importance of taking responsibility. Many of the characters take responsibility in this book. Miracle takes responsibility in learning the truth about her family, and this helps her make important decisions at the end of the book. Aunt Casey is another character who takes responsibility in the book when she steps up and assumes guardianship for Miracle. On p. 166, Aunt Casey says to Gigi, “When it came time renew the health insurance last year, I simply put Miracle on my policy… So now //you// get out of the way.” This quote shows that Aunt Casey takes responsibility by becoming more of a parent to Miracle. Granddaddy Opal also takes responsibility in the book by becoming closer to Miracle. He becomes an important person in Miracle’s life because he helps her accomplish her dream of learning to dance. Some people in the book, however, do not take responsibility, such as Dane and Gigi. Dane abandons his family without telling them where he is going. A responsible parent would not leave his child. Gigi lies to Miracle about her past and tries to get Miracle to believe her lies about her abilities as a medium. She does not take responsibility for lying to others, and does not own up to the truth about her “powers.” Something I liked about this book was the way the author tells the story. She gives enough information for the reader to see the situation through the characters’ eyes. I think the author does a terrific job on the ending by making all the loose ends come together. The thing I disliked about the story was that sometimes a part of the story goes on for too long. For example, there was too much description that was not needed. Also some information in then book was irrelevant to the story and distracted the reader from the plot. I would highly recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading about how family issues are dealt with. It is a slower moving book because it does not have a lot of action, but the events in it and the way characters explain how they feel about them is interesting. The title of this book does not describe what it is about because dancing only takes place in some chapters. Overall, it was a very interesting book to read and a different style of book than I am used to.