Name: Long Night Dance
ISBN: 9780689850714

Betsy James

Sixteen-year-old Kat, child of a disastrous and scandalous marriage, rescues a Rigi man from the sea during the week of the Long Night Dance and begins to realize that a person's value does not come from his background or appearance.

Long Night Dance

Aleena Korell

"Swim," he said again in his clear voice. "If you are swimming you must swim. You must not grab at another swimmer, or both will drown."

This beautiful little book is about Katyesha Marashya n'Ab Drem learning to be on her own-- to strip herself bare of all she thought she was and wade into the cold, rolling sea with only herself to keep her afloat. It's about Kat finding the strength to leave her oppressive home life and the panic that comes when she doesn't know how to be on her own. Her instinct is to latch on to someone else and submit herself to a different oppressor. Being a sort of retelling of the Irish selkie mythology, the motif woven through this book is that of the sea-- of swimming. Nall, a character whose own story entwines closely with Kat's, is from the sea, and he and Kat save each other-- he by helping her see she does not need to cling to anyone. And, in true Betsy James fashion, it contains sentences that bring tears to my eyes and sentiments that make my heart squeeze because I understand them so deeply. And also I'm aware it's probably just my copy but this book smells so good. 

I'm only mad at myself because I hadn't thought ahead and bought the whole series and now I have to wait to finish it.