Shadowdancers

Amaryllis #2

by Sally Odgers

This is a book for young adult girls about the complications of life for two young dancers eager to succeedMerimba and Pirry are twins in appearance and character, living in two different worlds. Merimba is a quadriplegic whose condition has dragged her family apart. She is in a coma. Pirry is a Valourn, an acrobatic dancer in the land of Rargon. When Merimba flees her body a switch is made.

Genres: Fantasy, Disability

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Sally Odgers was born in Tasmania in the 1950s, went to school there in the 1960s, married there in the 1970s, and had her children there in the 1980s. Her first book was published in 1977.

Reviews

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad I liked this as much as I did as I chatted to Sally Odgers on Facebook once and she was a noce person. But I wasn't going to give this 5 stars unless it convinced me.

I liked the depiction of Pirimba and Eden's relationship. I liked that it looked at disability in a way that avoided tropes and didn't erase all the negative aspects. I felt a bit sorry for Pierre because Pirimba wasn't very nice to him (though you can understand her perspective). "Mum" annoyed the hell out of me. The romance in the book was beautiful and not overdone.

My favourite character though was ShuMar. I've rarely seen such a beautiful male character in a book. He was vulnerable and caring and able to take "no" from a girl for all that he was handsome and talented. He loved animals and small kids and was great with loyalty and boundaries. He wasn't too good to be true because he was overwhelmed and full of his own adolescent emotions at times. I also loved that Pirimba initially just saw "Conan the barbarian" even though to the reader he's already established as sensitive.

Great writing and all the tropes avoided.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story. It was a little slow building, but was filled with interesting concepts.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Utterly bizarre. In the same world as the Amaryllis half of Amy Amaryllis and with the same general idea but... just not as great a read. The two girls are Pirry and Pirimba, if memory serves me correctly; one a dancer in the 'Amaryllis world' and the other just a normal girl like Amy, but one who has been paralysed and of course CAN'T dance, except when she switches place with the other.