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Beth Kephart
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House of Dance (Laura Geringer Books (Paperback)) Paperback – March 30, 2010

by Beth Kephart (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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Rosie and her mother coexist in the same house as near strangers. Since Rosie's father abandoned them years ago, her mother has accomplished her own disappearing act, spending more time with her boss than with Rosie. Now faced with losing her grandfather too, Rosie begins to visit him every day, traveling across town to his house, where she helps him place the things that matter most to him "In Trust." As Rosie learns her grandfather's story, she discovers the role music and motion have played in it. But like colors, memories fade. When Rosie stumbles into the House of Dance, she finds a way at last to restore the source of her grandfather's greatest joy.

Eloquently told, National Book Award finalist Beth Kephart's House of Dance is a powerful celebration of life and the people we love who make it worthwhile.

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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    A Laura Geringer Book
  2. Print length
    272 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    HarperTeen
  5. Publication date
    March 30, 2010
  6. Grade level
    8 - 9
  7. Reading age
    13 years and up
  8. Dimensions
    5 x 0.54 x 7.13 inches
  9. ISBN-10
    0061429309
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0061429309
  11. Lexile measure
    830
  12. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“...what stands out in this introspective novel is the sheer loveliness of its prose.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

“Poetically expressed memories and moving dialogue both anchor and amplify the characters’ emotions.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“... the piercing emotions and family situations, described with lyrical beauty, will hit home with readers who enjoy gentle, emotional journeys, such as Lynne Rae Perkins’ Newbery Medal–winner Criss Cross (1995)” (Booklist)

About the Author

Beth Kephart was nominated for a National Book Award for her memoir A Slant of Sun. Her first novel for teens, Undercover, received four starred reviews and was named a Best Book by Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Amazon.com. In 2005 Beth was awarded the Speakeasy Poetry Prize. She has also written Into the Tangle of Friendship: A Memoir of the Things That Matter; Still Love in Strange Places: A Memoir; Ghosts in the Garden: Reflections on Endings, Beginnings, and the Unearthing of Self; Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia's Schuylkill River; Zenobia: The Curious Book of Business; and House of Dance. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperTeen; Reprint edition (March 30, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061429309
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061429309
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 830
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 - 9
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.54 x 7.13 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 11 ratings

About the author

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Beth Kephart

Beth Kephart

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Beth Kephart, a National Book Award finalist and winner of multiple grants and literary prizes, works in a range of genres—memoir, fiction, picture books, poetry, and memoir workbooks. She is an award-winning teacher at the University of Pennsylvania; a frequent guest speaker and workshop leader; a reviewer and contest judge; and a widely published essayist with work appearing in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Life, Catapult, Ninth Letter, Salon.com, and elsewhere. Her new books are We Are the Words: The Master Memoir Class, And I Paint It: Henriette Wyeth's World, Wife | Daughter | Self: A Memoir in Essays, and Cloud Hopper. More at bethkephartbooks.com.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
11 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Zeigler
5.0 out of 5 stars For my son's school work.
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
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Audrey
3.0 out of 5 stars House of Dance
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2011
Title: House of Dance
Author: Beth Kephart
Genre: YA fiction

Where I got it: E-library

One sentence: Rosie tries to cope with her absentee mother and her grandfather's impending death and holding onto his memories through learning how to dance.

Themes: Loss, dance, coming-of-age

Main character: Rosie is an insightful fifteen year old trying to deal with the sickness and impending loss of her grandfather as her mother has an affair with a married man. I thought Rosie's character was well-developed and strong; she was very mature for her age and worked through the process of death through learning the waltz, like her grandmother used to dance.

Secondary characters: Kephart tried to bring in the secondary character of Nate, but he seemed too conspicuously absent to even be a minor character. I thought the character of Rosie's mother was particularly intriguing in how she was both absent (but very much a presence) and how she was the other woman.

Writing style: Kephart actually had a very mature and fluid writing style that I found compelling and beautiful, especially in a young adult novel, where I feel too often, writing focuses on action and not on description or style in the writing itself.

Plot: I thought there would be more actually dance involved in the novel; instead it seemed to focus on the relationship between Rosie and the other characters: her grandfather, her mother, and how she used dance as a gift to her grandfather. Ultimately, I wished there was some more depth to the plot.

Positives: Rosie's character, the writing style

Negatives: Not a lot of plot, some minor characters underdeveloped, slow start

Ending: I wish Kephart would have actually included the party at the end! I felt like the novel needed, and was working up to some sort of climax, and I was left wanting to know what the party was like.

Verdict: Cute and refreshing in writing style and character portrayal, but ultimately unsatisfying.

Rating: 5.5/10
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Little Willow
4.0 out of 5 stars The slow-quick-quick movement of life and loss
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2008
You cannot buy a man who is dying a single meaningful thing. You can only give him back the life he loved and awaken the memories.

Rosie's father left when she was quite young. His only interaction with her comes in the mail: a weekly twenty-dollar bill. She has saved his money in a shoebox in the back of her closet as proof "that love cannot be bought."

Shortly after Rosie's father took off, her mother took a new job washing windows and eventually took up with her (married) boss. (She'd been taken from, that was her thinking, and now it was her turn for taking.) Instead of feeling left behind, Rosie learned how to take care of herself and never complained, a quiet strength building inside of her.

Now Rosie is fifteen years old and the grandfather she barely knows is dying. She is sent to check on him by her mother, who is too busy and too stubborn to visit him herself. Luckily, Granddad and his cat Riot are only a twenty-minute walk away. With her friends gone for the summer and her mother always at work, Rosie begins to fill her days with visits to her grandfather. As she helps him sort his belongings, they grow closer. She learns about the grandmother she never knew and the trips her grandparents never took. She also gains an appreciation for jazz music.

On one of her walks through town, Rosie discovers the House of Dance. Once she finally summons up the courage to enter the ballroom studio, her mother's heeled sandals dangling from her hand, she is rewarded with new friends and new routines. An idea starts to form in the back of her mind. As her grandfather's condition worsens, she works hard to make that idea into a reality. There are many supporting players - the other dancers, the instructors, Granddad's nurse, Rosie's friends, the local shopkeepers - who are instrumental to Rosie's plan, and they all chip in.

House of Dance captures the slow-quick-quick movement of life and loss. As with Kephart's previous young adult novel, Undercover, the narrator tells her story at the speed of thought, revealing things to readers that she would never say out loud. She considers happy and sad memories in turn, blending her past with the present day. Detailed in emotions and colors, the characters come to life. Recommended.
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