Spring 2006 Review:

Marie had just finished ballet and Monsieur Degas motioned for her to follow him. Marie obediently followed although she was confused as to why Monsieur Degas would want her to follow him. Monsieur Degas was an artist who took ballet dancers to pose for his works of art. Marie had always considered herself as very low on the scale of being a dancer, but this time she didn't feel that low because she was going to Monsieur Degas's studio. The studio was a small room that was cluttered with papers and unfinished paintings; Marie was astonished. Monsieur Degas asked her to put on a practice tutu and go to fourth position, Marie removed her tattered shawl and felt ashamed of her ripped street clothes but she obeyed. Monsieur Degas sketched a few pictures and told Marie to return in a few days. Marie ran home, her face flushed with excitement. She opened the door to find a not so pleasant surprise, her mother had been drinking again, Charlotte was cold and hungry, and Antoinette was nowhere in site. Marie fed Charlotte a small serving and ate nothing herself, but before she went to sleep her mother awoke from her drunken stupor and questioned Marie as to why she was so late. Marie quickly explained to her mother that she was now posing for Monsieur Degas and that she would be late every few days. Her mother was okay with the job since Marie was being paid, but she told Marie that if she were to pose nude she had to raise the price or she would not pose. Marie was terrified, she had never thought that she would be told to pose nude! Who would want to paint her nude small and skinny figure?! She had heard Antoinette bragging to her how she had posed for Monsieur Degas and how she had even posed nude. Marie had heard stories about when an artist asked a model to pose nude they usually had an affair. Marie knew that she would never be able to bring herself to pose nude, let alone tell Monsieur Degas that she needed a raise in order to pose nude! At the next meeting, sure enough Monsieur Degas told Marie to pose nude. After a few minutes hesitation Marie told him she needed a raise and Monsieur Degas agreed. Marie actually found it easy to pose and Monsieur Degas told her to come back twice a week for about six months. 

Marie was so excited and brought her pay to the little shop below her small room, and put her coins into the little jar the shop keeper let her keep in his shop. The shopkeeper was Monsieur Lerat and he was very fond of Marie, he knew almost everything about her. How her father had died and how her mother's drinking problem was getting worse, how she was poor, and how Antoinette was attaching herself to every man she could at the Foyer de la Danse trying to become their mistress. 

One day, Marie saw a very old friend of hers, Jean-Pierre. They had lived next to each other when life had been better for Marie, but because her family kept moving to avoid tax collecting since they could not pay it, Jean-Pierre and Marie had lost staying in touch. Over the next few months Jean-Pierre and Marie became lovers, but Marie had an obstacle. Her older sister Antoinette had made her go to the Foyer de la Danse with her. The Foyer de la Danse was where the dancers met men and started going on dates with them and usually ended up becoming the men's mistresses. Marie completely disapproved of this but the family needed the money and Antoinette had passed off her most recent man to Marie, he was known as Lulu. Lulu was extremely fond of Marie, but Marie did not like Lulu. Lulu was like a twenty year old trapped in a six years old body. When Jean-Pierre had moved to help his parents Marie was lost, but she was even more lost with out Monsieur Degases help, Marie needed the money more than ever and Lulu wasn't a help. Monsieur Degas was making a miniature statuette of Marie called Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, but Marie had stopped modeling for Monsieur Degas for a while and her stash in the shop didn't last as long as she had hoped. Finally the day came when Lulu asked Marie to become his mistress, she refused because she was in love with Jean-Pierre and she promised him that she would wait for him to come back. After this event Antoinette took Lulu back for herself because her man was no longer a help to her now that he was in debt.

One night at dinner, Marie witnessed the most horrible act, thankfully she was alone and not with her friends. Antoinette had tried to rob Lulu and was dragged off to jail, and was sentenced six months in prison and fined. There was no way Antoinette would be able to pay the fine, nor would she be able to keep her position in the ballet. Marie visited Antoinette every week with food and clean clothes and gave up her position in the ballet. It was time for spring examinations and Marie knew she would not pass, and she didn't. She was no longer a part of the ballet, but Charlotte moved up a group which meant more money. When Antoinette was released from prison she got up and left and said that she would send money to help. She never did, and Marie had to get a job as a seamstress at her aunt's shop. Marie had to move her family in the middle of the night because the tax collector had finally found them, she moved them to an even worse place to live, but at least they were alive. One day Marie got a letter saying that Antoinette was sick from child birth and was sure that she would die, Marie and her aunt went to see Antoinette but nothing would help, from here on life became a little better for Marie, little dancer aged fourteen.

    I immensely enjoyed this book because it was full of surprise and I really liked the fact of that a book was centered around a poor girl and her family struggles. I would recommend this book for middle school students because I believe that they would be able to connect a little more with the book especially with Marie's age.

 ~ Ashley Aldan, grade 7, Boardman Center Middle School