Friday, March 25, 2022

Drina Ballet Series #3 Drina Dances in Exile

Drina Adams, whose real name is Andrina Adamo and whose mother was the famous dancer Elizabeth Ivory, is heartbroken by the news that she must leave London, as her grandparents are off to Australia, and go to the Dominick Residential Ballet School in the Chilterns.

But she gradually comes to like her country exile and makes new friends, including the puppy Petrouchka, whom she rescues from a trap.  

The greatest excitement of all comes when she is given the name part in the ballet "The Changling," to be danced at the Dominick Theatre, London.

The above summary is from the publisher.

Drina is devastated when she has to leave the Dominick school for the country school.  The writing is so good that I felt what Drina felt as I read the story.  Like Drina, I grew to love the country school and regretted that Drina would be leaving it to go back to London.  

Drina continues to have to deal with the cutting remarks of her rivals.  The remarks cause Drina to feel insecure about her role in the ballet.  Miss Whiteway speaks to Drina and bolsters her confidence. 

From page 139 of the Collins edition:

Miss Selswick watched [Drina] with relief, and Christine, Queen, and Daphne [watched Drina] with a good deal of gloom.  They knew, somehow, that Drina had escaped from them.  Their gibes would not matter now; she was lost in the ballet, happy and confident again.

This is an excellent book just like the first two books in the series.

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