Young Adult

A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn… Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above. Captivating from start to finish, Jessica Day George’s take on the Grimms’ tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh out of a story you thought you knew.

Rachel Fletcher thought the biggest secret she'd ever have would be her crush on Jason West. But everything changes the night her father dies in a car accident—an accident she believes is all her fault. Starting high school is hard enough but carrying her secret guilt, enduring her mother's depression, and, worst of all, dealing with the alcoholism of her seventeen-year-old brother Ryan, plunge Rachel into a world she never wanted or imagined. Add to all that the unwelcome intrusion of a stepfather and a teenaged stepbrother—a stepbrother she doesn't want to like but can't help liking. Maybe too much. It isn't long before Rachel feels totally overwhelmed. Things like this aren't supposed to happen to good LDS people, so why are they happening to her? She's praying for Heavenly Father's help. Why isn't he listening? With two new people living in her home, nothing can remain a secret for long. Rachel learns that Heavenly Father doesn't always answer our prayers in the way that we want, but he does answer them—in his own time, usually through other people, and often in unexpected ways.