Customer comments on this selection.
 Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
One of the more unique stories I've read this year, Ten Cents a Dance, written by Christine Fletcher is written on a subject that I had yet to encounter in a young adult book. The writing was fantastic, the characters lovely, and the overall presence of the novel fresh and new. Oh...and the cover? I wanted to see the rest of that photo SO badly! Most mysterious...Definitely a winner!
Living in the 1940's during incredibly difficult times, 15 year old Ruby is forced to quit school and work to support her ill mother and younger sister. Laboring in a factory packing pigs feet into jars is not exactly Ruby's idea of glamorous and she knows that she's being made old before her time. Her joints ache, her fingers are swollen, and her heart simply isn't in her job. Can you blame her?
When a super slick bad boy gets her a job doing something Ruby really loves, dancing the nights away, she feels like she's fallen into a movie. Being paid to simply dance with men, maybe flirt with them a bit, and to often leave the dance hall for dinners and nights out on the town, all dressed in pretty clothes and her makeup done, Ruby loves her new, rich lifestyle. Unfortunately, her job is looked down upon by most people, considered almost prostitution and Ruby knows she can never let her mother find out how she is now making money for the family. Soon, Ruby is drawn so far into the world of dancing and fantasy, she begins to fall into trouble and isn't quite sure how to get herself out. She can't trust anyone in the business and isn't even sure she can trust herself any longer.
The premise of Ten Cents a Dance is mesmerizing and the descriptions of the people, clothes, and atmosphere is simply amazing. I was hooked from the first page and will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I possibly can. For sure, one of my favorites of 2008!
A real sense of time and place
Quite simply, this is a great book! The story is really engrossing, the characters are realistic and relatable, and the history isn't heavy-handed at all. I could easily picture Chicago at the dawn of the WWII, the nightclubs and parish-centered neighborhoods, the diners and taverns. I couldn't put this one down!
 Liv's Book Reviews
Before reading this book, I hadn't read a ton of detailed historical fiction before. I wasn't sure how I was going to like it, and surprisingly, it really struck a chord with me. I loved how it covered a time period that I didn't know much about and how we were able to see it all through the eyes of someone who was easy to relate to, and real. Ruby reacted the same way any of us would have reacted in her situations and for that, I was drawn into the story completely. It slowed down a little at some parts, but there was sure to be a huge twist on the way to pull me under again. I also liked how this book wasn't so much about the action, but about the setting and making it come alive for the reader, which it really did. I was able to perfectly picture the dance hall, the black and tans, the dresses Ruby wore, and the factory she worked at in the beginning of the book. Description and details were everywhere which was wonderful. I think the other thing that made the book work was how the plot wasn't sugar coated - it showed the ugly underside of life in the 40's; not glossing over the gory parts. I was able to read about what things would have actually been like had I been living in those times. The plot twists were realistic and unexpected and everything felt as if it had been carefully planned out to add more to the story. I would definitely recommend this book if your looking for something that will teach you things but also take you back in time and sweep you away into a world that you never thought you'd experience. Even if you aren't a history lover, you'll definitely like Ten Cents A Dance.
A great book for ages 14 to 114
[Excerpted from www.worducopia.blogspot.com]
I never lived during the 1940s and neither did Christine Fletcher, but after reading "Ten Cents a Dance" I'm almost convinced that we've been kicking around in Chicago together with Ruby Jacinski, 60 years ago. The music, the language, the smell of the meat-packing plants--it's all very real, in these pages.
Also real is the sense of hopelessness that comes with poverty, with the beginning of a war, and with being a young woman in a time of double standards, when marrying well was considered by many to be the best chance of success. Like the proverbial bull crashing through life's china shops (Well, smarter and far more feminine, of course, than the average bull), Ruby's next move is never predictable except in that it's likely to lead to disaster. But she'll never choose to give in--for Ruby, giving in means giving up on herself, on her family, and on ever leaving the Yards.
This makes the book sound very serious, and it is. But Ruby's plucky stubborness sets her firmly in the middle of near-impossible situations, and watching how she navigates her way out of them will bring frequent smiles and the occasional right-out-loud laugh or gasp of horror (she did what?!).
I wondered, as I read, how on earth this story could lead to an ending that wouldn't leave the reader disappointed: in Ruby, and in the book. But Fletcher comes through beautifully. Like a dish of sorbet after a heavy meal, the final chapter is just enough to give closure on Ruby's taxi-dancing misadventure, without overdoing it.
unique look at the WWII homefront
Ruby's Jacinski's life would be hard for anyone, but the fact that she's 16 makes it nearly unbearable. She's living in the stockyard district of Chicago, bottling pig's feet for a living so that she, her mother, and her younger sister can survive. The 1940s, when this book takes place, were an interesting intersection, technologically speaking. Ruby is living, virtually, a turn of the century lifestyle. She shares a bathroom with all the other people in her building. They have an icebox, a coal stove, no warm water. And literally five blocks down, people have electric refrigerators and private bathrooms.
Ruby wants out. A man she meets gives her a tip about "taxi dance halls," and suggests that she would make a good dancer. After creating a suitable cover story for her mother, Ruby dives headfirst into the underworld of Chicago nightlife. Earning ten cents per dance and working with girls who are willing to do more than dance with the men they meet, Ruby gets a quick and dirty education. There are people from all sides hounding her - crazies she meets at the dance hall, fellow dancers, her mother, her sister. And, as the book goes on, Ruby finds herself falling in love.
I couldn't put the book down, and her story is a very unique and intriguing one. I just kept thinking "no no no no, Ruby!! Don't do that, you idiot!!" She was a teenager living in a world with real life gangsters and dime a dozen prostitutes. She is a tough cookie - throwing punches more than once, but she was also so naive and made such horrible choices. While I'd say this is definitely a young adult book, it really deals with very adult issues and while there is definitely romance, I can't say it is particularly romantic.
The author took great care to be historically accurate. She paints an excellent picture of one of my favorite cities - and because my grandmother grew up during this time in this same city, I know she even got the feel and language of the city just right. She's given us a completely new look at the WWII homefront and I'm glad I read it.
|
