Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10E)

March 2019, Dancing Lemur Press, 158 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Book Summary

Twelve-year-old Lindsey McKay's biggest dream is to be a famous ballerina. But after moving to New York, she ends up at the Community Center with a teacher who’s a burly bear in tights.

When she meets Madame Destinée, the teacher of a top dance school who offers her classes for free, Lindsey can't believe her luck. In exchange, she must perform in the school’s exclusive midnight shows, ones sure to make her a star. But something’s not right...

One by one, the other dancers disappear. Each time they do, a music box with a figurine just like the missing ballerina joins Madame Destinée’s growing collection. If Lindsey doesn’t discover the truth about the dance school, she might end up a tiny figurine herself.

Nayu's thoughts

Considering this is a middle grade novel, it is surprisingly scary and freaked me out quite a lot because of the nature of the tale. I'm glad that I kept reading to find out what happened in the end (happy ending, I promise), although perhaps I shouldn't have read it in the dark when everything is scarier. It's a good thing I don't own a music box, which I thought were charming, because I'd have promptly thrown it outside in the bin with all that goes on. I do get scared very easily, frequently more so than the age group this is primarily aimed at. 

The intensity of the darker side of the plot was unexpected: I hear the word ballet and immediately think of a light and fluffy read. Okay, I do know better and I have read ballet books with a lot of trouble for the main character, but I still assume it's a fun story. Lindsey's tale is far from fun, despite the plentiful laughter from her classmates. Everything about Madame Destinee sent my inner alarm bells ringing, but sometimes (especially when we are young) if it sounds like your dream is coming true you block out all other thoughts that potentially indicate all is not as it seems and there is a catch. The catch for Lindsey is huge, and impacts not only herself but other people, including her own sister which was extremely scary. 

I liked how Lindsey's family life was portrayed: it can be hard when life centres around a sibling's talent, as Lindsey's was. I was a bit surprised she was allowed out in New York during the day by herself, and was petrified every time she went to dance class because of the late hour. I always enjoy the sliver of insight when a character moves to a new town: I've never been to New York, but have read a lot about it, so felt I knew it a bit, more than Lindsey did. 

 I felt that the music boxes seemed a bit like Faberge eggs, one of a kind creations although at least Faberge wasn't an evil nutter. I liked the way magic and illusion were used in Lindsey's world: theatres and ballet use illusion and imagination a lot, just not in the way crazy Madame Destinee did. Jealously was accurately portrayed, and while I only did ballet when I was little I read a lot of ballet fiction and the ballet side of the story seemed accurate too. Even though it scared me I know I'll be rereading it in the future because despite the fear it was a captivating read.

Find out more on Tonja's website. 

Suggested read

For more creepy reads check out The Lucy Wilson Mysteries Books 1 and 2 by Sue Hampton, Chris Lynch, and Steve Beckett (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10E)