Dancing with the Paris Opera ballet is 14-year-old Marie van Goethem's greatest joy. And yet she must honor her father's dying request to keep their poverty-stricken family together. She certainly can't count on the help of her drunken mother or selfish older sister. When famous artist Edgar Degas asks Marie to model for a sculpture, she welcomes the income-although she's hesitant to pose nude. Her bi-weekly visits to Degas' cluttered art studio introduce her to unimagined wonders and mysteries. But when the sculpture is finished, she refuses to be a rich man's mistress. She instead earns honest income as a seamstress while hoping for her chance at true love. An award-winning author of more than 50 books, Carolyn Meyer captivates young adults with her vivid historical fiction. Using actual details about the ballerina Degas immortalized as Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, Meyer creates a seamless narrative of Marie's life as it might have been in 1870s Paris. "As with her Young Royals series, Meyer's ability to sweep readers to another time and place while bringing historic figures to life once again results in a mesmerizing novel."-Publishers Weekly, starred review
Download and start listening now!
"Man, I really hate books that have endings where the lovers can't be together! This is the only thing that stopping me from adding it to my all-time favorites list. this is a wonderfully awful book about the model for Degas's statuette 'Little Dancer, aged fourteen' Marie and her fight to keep her family together in the servival of the fittest world of France, 19th century. The True life of dancers then, just how Degas was trying to show it with his gorgeous little statue. I'm excited to read more by Carolyn Meyer"
— Madalyn (5 out of 5 stars)
" I absolutely loved this book. It was very inspiring the way Marie gave up her hopes,dream,and love of her life to keep her promise to her dead father, and look after her family. I truley believe there are very little people who would sacrifice so much for people who cared so little. "
— Maggie, 2/18/2014" I love this book. It gives an insight on a piece of history that no one knows a lot about. Degas was always my favorite artist and this book brought his work to life. "
— Meghan, 2/8/2014" An interesting story inspired by a beautiful work of art that really brings an interesting era in Paris to life. The ending is satisfying without being perfectly happy for all characters. "
— Brett, 2/4/2014" Awesome story! It was a true story about the dancer that posed for Edward Degas's statue "little dancer" It was crazy to hear how poor she was and everything. Very educational and interesting! "
— Sabrina, 1/24/2014" this is a really good book with a little suspition but at the same time very sweet. "
— ~nina, 1/21/2014" i dont do ballet but i was a really good book peeking into the past and seeing what happened "
— McKenna, 1/18/2014" I learned to appreciate my mother, my life, and dance and drawings. I used to dance for what seemed like eternity, and was sad when i quit, but felt it was time for something new. Marie gave me a different approach to life and a netter interpretation of its meaning. "
— Kelly, 12/30/2013" Thought I might like it at first, but her conditions never improved, she was kind of stupid, and she got with the wrong guy. I finished it thinking, "WOW that was a waste of time." "
— Sheri, 12/2/2013" I really really loved this book! Carolyn Meyer is a historical fiction master! Her books are thoroughly researched and very interesting. She makes the characters so real I feel like I know them. I will be reading many more books by her in the future. A great, light read. "
— Kylie, 11/19/2013" I was not impressed. It was lacking a certain something, and because of that, it just wasn't very good. "
— Snorkle, 10/31/2013" I read this book in one night, it was amazing. If you are currently taking ballet this is an amazing choice. It's about a girl in the Paris Opera in the 1890's. Even if you aren't taking dance this is still a book to read. "
— Sophie, 10/20/2013" I was good to a point, but the ending was rather random, and in my opinion, quite a bit disappointing. I hate it when things don't turn out as they should. "
— Allison, 8/7/2013" Historical fiction centered around the ballerina who posed for Degat's Little Dancer sculpture. Loved it. "
— Megan, 2/5/2013" Marie never gets to be ballerina. I never thought that would affect me so much. "
— Claire, 10/25/2012" I LOVE this book. It is on one of the subjects that I LOVE reading about... BALLET!!! I have probably read it more than 10 times since I got it. "
— Sanna, 8/17/2012" Marie, Dancing, was a sad book about a dancer that had to survive with very little and not become her sister! I really liked this book "
— Brittney, 8/5/2012" This book was quite interesting and sad. I've never read anything about the life of ballet dancers, so I found it intriguing to learn about how hard they worked and for such a small reward. Apparently life was very hard in Paris during the last 1800's. "
— Elisabeth, 2/19/2012" The end was super depressing and made me sad though I enjoyed the book very much. "
— Ella, 10/19/2011" Great book for us performing arts kids. "
— Kathy, 8/25/2011" Oh, God, this was such a gorgeous book. I am a dancer myself, and I feel that Carolyn Meyer really quenched my thirst for a little ballet. It is especially wonderful if you enjoy the book with a little light, classical music in the back round. Gorgeous, gorgeous book. MUST READ! "
— Parisa, 7/19/2011" It was pretty much just describing the tragic life of this dancer. In my opinion, the book was well-written, but the idea was terrible --- I feel like dancers have now been called hopeless and poor (and sluts), and since I do ballet, I am not acting very positively toward the author. "
— Polka-pearl, 6/23/2011" a very sad yet very good book not going to spoil it "
— Sarah, 6/17/2011" I LOVE this book. It is on one of the subjects that I LOVE reading about... BALLET!!! I have probably read it more than 10 times since I got it. "
— Sanna, 6/1/2011" I read this book in one night, it was amazing. If you are currently taking ballet this is an amazing choice. It's about a girl in the Paris Opera in the 1890's. Even if you aren't taking dance this is still a book to read. "
— Sophie, 11/10/2010" Reading about how horrible her life was made me depressed. If the sculpture had lifted her up, that was one thing, but it didn't. It didn't matter. "
— Katie, 10/3/2010" Really well-writted - I guess the only reason I only "liked" it was because of the darkness - which is only to be expected, based on Marie's horrible living conditions throughout most of the book. It reminded me a lot of The Girl With the Pearl Earrings. "
— Caryn, 6/22/2010" An interesting story inspired by a beautiful work of art that really brings an interesting era in Paris to life. The ending is satisfying without being perfectly happy for all characters. "
— Brett, 5/10/2010" I finished this book. While it was an okay and sometimes interesting story, it was too "wordy" the writer used too many ballet terms a non ballet person wouldn't understand. It distracted from the story a lot. <br/> <br/>I found the end far too rushed. "
— Leigha, 3/6/2010" Oh, God, this was such a gorgeous book. I am a dancer myself, and I feel that Carolyn Meyer really quenched my thirst for a little ballet. It is especially wonderful if you enjoy the book with a little light, classical music in the back round. Gorgeous, gorgeous book. MUST READ! "
— Parisa, 2/11/2010" I absolutely loved this book. It was very inspiring the way Marie gave up her hopes,dream,and love of her life to keep her promise to her dead father, and look after her family. I truley believe there are very little people who would sacrifice so much for people who cared so little. "
— Maggie, 12/15/2009" Marie never gets to be ballerina. I never thought that would affect me so much. "
— Claire, 12/8/2009" I learned to appreciate my mother, my life, and dance and drawings. I used to dance for what seemed like eternity, and was sad when i quit, but felt it was time for something new. Marie gave me a different approach to life and a netter interpretation of its meaning. "
— Kelly, 9/27/2009" good book.<br/>i liked it a lot "
— Emilie, 6/27/2009Carolyn Meyer is the author of more than forty books for middle school and young adult readers, including Isabel, Jewel of Castilla for the Royal Diaries series. Where the Broken Heart Still Beats, White Lilacs, Drummers of Jericho, Gideon’s People, and Jubilee Journey were all named Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association. Her novel, Mary, Bloody Mary, was named a Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies.
Carine Montbertrand is an award-winning narrator of dozens of audiobooks. When she first started working in the 1990s, she sounded younger than her years and specialized in children’s and young adult titles. Since then she has expanded to fiction for adults and has recorded everything from murder mysteries to fantasy and inspirational titles. She is adept with dialects and accents, voicing characters from countries around the world. She also specializes in English language titles with a French flavor, as she is half French. With her audiobooks, she has the opportunity to tell wonderful stories while finding voices for men, women, children, and sometimes ghosts and extraterrestrials.