Wildwood Dancing
Set in historical Transylvania and loosely based on the fairytale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier centers on a family of sisters who have a secret bond with the mysterious Other Kingdom, where they go to dance at every Full Moon. When their father must go away for the winter, Jena and her sisters find themselves fighting for everything they hold dear – their home, their independence and the survival of the otherworld kingdom.
Tropes used in Wildwood Dancing include:
- Baleful Polymorph: Draguţsa changing Costi into a frog as his 'gift'.
- Batman Gambit: Dragutsa does this to Jena, Cezar, and Costi/Gogu.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: One of the points of the story. Jena's wish turns out to be the wisest.
- Big Sister Instinct: Jena towards all four of her sisters.
- Also Sorrow who has a Big Brother Instinct for his younger sister, Silence.
- Blue Eyes: Tatiana.
- Brainy Brunette: Jena.
- Brother-Sister Incest: Tadeusz and Anastasia of the Night People. However this could be a subversion because it is hinted at least twice throughout the book that they aren't siblings in the genetic way. In any case Tadeusz himself refers to Anastasia as his 'lover, sister, and friend.'
- Cain and Abel: Cezar and Costi. Funny thing is it's actually the younger brother who is the evil one in this example.
- The Chessmaster: Draguţsa.
- Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: When Jena and Gogu/Costi reconcile.
- Don't Go in The Woods: What is commonly believed about the forest to the point that Cezar wants to cut it all down. The locals know better than to disrespect The Fair Folk like that.
- Earn Your Happy Ending
- Equivalent Exchange: Basically the Aesop of the story; you can't receive something without giving something in return. Jena, Costi, and especially Cezar learn this the hard way.
- The Fair Folk: Jena and the girls dance with them once a month.
- Fisher King: Elements of this. The more Cezar takes charge, the worse things get. This continues until Costi come back to take his place as his father's heir.
- Gentle Giant: Grigori.
- Green Eyes: Jena
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: A platonic example: Jena towards her older sister Tatiana.
- Jerkass: Cezar, almost to the point of being a Complete Monster.
- Kissing Cousins: Jena and Costi/Gogu.
- Love At First Sight: Sorrow and Tati.
- Meaningful Names: Sorrow and Silence, anyone?
- Missing Mom: The girls' mother died giving birth to Stella five years ago.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Gogu the frog to Jena until the whole turning back into human and becoming the Love Interest thing.
- Official Couple: Jena and Costi/Gogu and Tatiana and Sorrow.
- Our Vampires Are Different: The Night People.
- Pimped-Out Dress: The butterfly gown.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Tatiana.
- Secret Test of Character: Why Draguţsa makes her deal with the children in the first place.
- Sibling Triangle: Between Jena, Cezar, and Costi.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Tatiana and Sorrow. They do have an happy ending though.
- The Twelve Dancing Princesses: This is a retelling of that story with five sisters instead of twelve. The Frog Prince is here, too.