The music soars. The curtain lifts. Marie van Goethem rises onto her toes and floats across the stage of the Paris Opéra. And in that moment, fourteen-year-old Marie is happy.
Unfortunately, that’s almost the only joy in Marie’s life. When she’s not dancing, she is tormented by hunger, overwhelmed by her mother’s uncontrolled drinking, and angered by her older sister’s chronic selfishness. However, when Edgar Degas demands Marie’s presence in his studio, it appears that her life will be transformed. Each week as she poses for the famous artist, Marie dreams—of a life without poverty, of being with her one true love, and of becoming a star of the ballet. But can being Monsieur Degas’s model bring her all that she imagines?
Here is the story of the girl immortalized in Degas’s most famous sculpture, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. It’s a heartbreaking tale of passion for ballet, of loyalty to family, and of enduring love.
 Carolyn Meyer has written many successful historical novels for young readers, including White Lilacs and Mary, Bloody Mary, the first book in her popular Young Royals series. In Marie, Dancing, she explores what it was like to be a poor dancer in Paris in the 1880s and the inspiration for a work of art that became world renowned. With meticulous research and powerful prose, she re-creates the world of the Paris Opéra and the studio of Edgar Degas as he struggles to create a statue like none other. Ms. Meyer has woven a deeply affecting coming-of-age story about family bonds, romantic love, and artistic dreams. She lives with her husband in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Visit her website at www.readcarolyn.com.
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Bonus Material
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Carolyn Meyer:
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