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Dancing
at the Odinochka
Kirkpatrick Hill McElderry, Margaret K. Books © 2005 |
Dancing at the Odinochka was a wonderful book about a young girl who lives in Russia America, or Alaska. The story is told in first person by Erinia Pavaloff, and starts out as a basic historic fiction novel until the telegraph men come. They are men who come from America to put in a telegraph system connecting Russia America with the rest of the continent. Soon after, the seven people who live in this town must adapt to the changes that take place, such as the conversion of measurements. This story was well written and is full of facts. I didn’t actually know until after I read the book but Erinia Pavaloff is a real person and even though her life was tweaked a bit, the story was all possible (some of the events were added to make the story interesting). The story was based on a five page document that Erinia wrote herself.
This book will definitely be remembered for the fantastic writing style of Kirkpatrick Hill, and for the amazing story. This story kept my attention until the end. It was full of action, suspense, and facts. It is one of the better books that I have read in my life. Also, one thing I found ironic about the book was that a town called New Archangel had its name changed to Sitka after the Americans bought Russia America, and Sitka is where my Uncle and two cousins lived. One other thing was that, as the main character aged, her thoughts matured. Dancing at the Odinochka was fantastically written with a style only talented passionate writers have and is able to keep the reader interested until the end of the novel where there is a surprise ending that is unexpected.~ Michael McMaster, grade 8, Boardman Center Middle School.