Wow … such a beautiful book in so many ways, especially when describing the sea dragons. I knew so little about them previously and now i’m so interested in learning even more. So much happens in this book and it is such an adventure to read, tugging at heart strings on multiple levels. The book touches on so many issues including death, ballet, helping disadvantaged children, conservation and so much more … and is told in such a captivating way that the story of Gaia and her friends and family will stay with me for a long time. I think my main hesitation with reviewing the book is that some sections did remind me a little too much of When the Crawdads sing but still a delightful read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced review copy.

I am going to be honest. I love the early parts of the book - Gaia's blissful days, the fire, the aftermath and her recovery from her injuries, and her decision to return to the abandoned place she once called home - and I almost cried in public multiple times.

And then it sort of go downhill from there, and the more I read, the less I like this book.

My issue is that the plot of this book follows a really strange trajectory, in my opinion. I'll call it the 'domino effect plot', because it seems to me that all Gaia needed to do is to make the first move and everything falls into place.

Now there's no way to explain what I dislike about this book without going in-depth into the plot, so spoilers alert. I'll have a concluding remark at the end for those who wish to skip the spoilers.

I hate to use the word 'bland', but that's really the best word to describe this book. There's very little conflict or tension (except for Mason... we'll talk about Mason in a bit). When Gaia decided to live by herself, she almost immediately succeed in it. Like, she has a garden and she could survive with the help of her neighbours, Eddie and Mary, and she even have cute wildlife pets, Disney princess style. Oh, she has a bit of money from her parents, so there's really very little danger of her dying. I wished we had seen more details about her struggle in trying to live off the land alone, which is tough on everyone.

[spoiler section]
This lack of tension continues when she became friends with an 11-year-old boy called Jarrah. Jarrah saw Gaia dancing on the beach and was immediately spellbound because Gaia is just that beautiful and amazing. Her scars? He doesn't see them AT ALL. Their friendship develops in a wholesome, almost saccharine way.

Then this guy Seamus appeared, and right away you can tell this is the LOVE INTEREST CHARACTER. At this point I was like, sigh. Of course he's good-looking. Bonus points for him not seeing Gaia's scars at all (or rather, he was shocked for like 2 minutes and then he doesn't see them afterwards). And he's Irish, so he can dance really well, which allows him to have amazing dancing moments with Gaia. Genuine question: is every Irish person great at dancing, or is that a stereotype?

Anyway, tension arose when Jarrah saw Seamus and Gaia kiss. But no worries, as with every conflict in this book, it is resolved easily: Jarrah gets a heart-to-heart talk, and they all returned to being friends. To be fair, I did like the talk Seamus gave Jarrah, but that's beside the point: everything is resolved way too easily and quickly, and as a result there is very little emotional engagement from my part.

Later on, things started to pick up. Some developer showed up with a plan to turn the area into a vacation spot, which would mean damage to the reef and wildlife. Gaia decided to try and save her home... and once she made that decision everything falls into place again. Oh, she needed a lawyer? Guess what, her lawyer turned out to be an environmentalist at heart, and was willing to help her pro bono. He also conveniently knows that a university might be willing to purchase the land for research and conservation purposes.

At this juncture the book became really tedious and frustrating to read. The domino effect thing became really prominent when Gaia decided to take up formal ballet lessons again. She went to a plastic surgeon, whose daughter *just happen* to be in this ballet school, and the school *just happen* to have this instructor who's so nice she decided to give Gaia a 50% discount. Then when Gaia put up a dance performance to raise funds for a school, she was apparently so amazing that she wowed the Artistic Director of the West Australia Ballet (who's also conveniently the ballet instructor's husband).

Oh, did I mention that her performance also led to the publication of an article that subsequently helped her save her home and brought her brother back to her?

Sigh.

Let's talk about Mason. Most of the characters in this book is just unbelievably helpful, friendly, selfless, and wholesome. When I mentioned that there's very little tension, that's what I mean: Gaia was never shown to have any serious disagreement with any of her friends. They were never angry with each other, or have to come to a compromise of sorts or reach an understanding despite differing opinions. They just... fall in line.

Now, Mason. Mason as a character does a lot of heavy lifting in this book. He's drunk, racist, has a temper, tried to rape Gaia, and even had an affair with her mother. At this point I just think that there are no nuances to any of the characters in this book: they are either perfectly wholesome and amazing, or they are... Mason. This further hurts the story because there was a part where the story sort of wanted to comment about the racism issue in Australia, where the Aboriginal people might suffer unjust persecution from the police. But no, we don't really see that (other than a minor scene and Gaia telling us that they are racist), and most of the 'on-screen' racism came from Mason.

Speaking of Mason, towards the end he resurfaced after conveniently being out of the picture for half the book. This was the part where I got really annoyed with Gaia because her brilliant idea was to confront an angry, armed Mason despite advice against it? Like, girl, what did you think was going to happen? Also throughout the book Gaia has been advised to install a telephone in her home, but for whatever stupid reason she refused to?

Heavy sigh.

[end of spoilers]

I wanted to like this book. I truly do. I started this book with the expectation that we'll see Gaia's growth and determination. Unfortunately, because every other character is just perfectly wonderful and helpful and kind, she never has to learn or grow. Thing happened in ways that aligned with her wishes somehow and hence she didn't even have to work very hard to achieve whatever it is that she wanted. Oh, I almost laughed at how despite years of self-studying and recovering from grievous injuries, apparently she was so well-trained as a child that her ballet techniques were still perfection itself. Also she was self-conscious of her scars but since everyone is 100% accepting (except for Mason, because he's just the worst in every single way), she has no issues with them after all. There were just way too many conveniences that what you get is a really tepid story that doesn't actually do much for Gaia as a character.

But I guess seadragons and whale sharks are cool.

This book normally wouldn’t be my thing but as someone who loves the ocean, I decided to give it a try. It really surprised me. From tragedy comes hope as we follow Gaia through her life. The themes of loss and loneliness, connection and courage are felt throughout. Where this book shines is its vivid ocean imagery. I look forward to reading more by Jenni Odgen!

Such a unique story. I gave it 4 stars and I loved it so much. I recommend everyone to read this book asap If you can. So so good.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but found it disappointing..

Sadly, I felt that the relationships weren't well developed, the characters and the storyline were unconvincing. Maybe other people will enjoy it, but it wasn't for me.

This is an amazing read set in Australia. You can almost feel the heat of the place. Gaia spends her life next to the ocean, she is a ballet dancer but due to a fire that killed her parents she is scarred for life. Jarrah is a young aboriginal boy who loves to watch her dance every day, and the two become friends. Gaia swims every day and is fascinated by dragon fish. Mason is a drunken neighbour who wants to sell the bay to create a holiday park. Gaia finally has to take action for the first time in her life and contacts a lawyer to make sure the bay can be protected from development Mason has to be dealt with as he becomes violent and deranged.
This novel covers environmental concerns as well as the renewal of life for both the landscape and Gaia herself. The story is beautifully told and well worth reading.

Emotional and lyrical. Read quite young to me, at least in the beginning. Dialogue sometimes fell flat as did the ballet aspects (coming from a former ballerina). Overall enjoyable but not spectacularly memorable.

DNF @ 40-some%

I genuinely forgot I was reading this book...

The descriptions of the snorkeling excursions were nice... I guess.

Listen, I'm trying to throw the author a bone here. There is nothing wrong with this story, structurally. Prosaically, it's not for me.

Next!

Dancing with Dragons is set in Australia, opening with a sister and brother who live off-grid with their parents in a lush, beautiful , untouched oceanside setting called Goshawk Gardens. The two teens, Gaia and Bron, aspire to perform in a ballet company someday, and practice daily under the supervision of their mother. Each day after practice, they scramble for the beach where they snorkel in the shallow waters, marveling at the warm warm, the coral reefs, colorful fish, and especially a pair of sea dragons, whose mating ritual is beautiful to watch.
The entire family is respectful of their environment and protective of all the creatures with whom they co-exist.

A fire of suspicious cause destroys their home, and almost, their family. As Gaia recovers, she returns to Goshawk Gardens and lives in the barn alone, assisted by the Aboriginal caretakers of a nearby property, Mary and Eddie. Their nephew, Jarrah, who visits from an orphanage, watches Gaia dance alone on the beach, and wishes for that freedom of expression, since his activity is limited by a club foot. Gaia teaches Jarrah to snorkel and marvel at underwater life, and teaches him to dance, and teaches dancing to the children at his orphanage as well.

Gaia’s idyllic, but lonely life, is disrupted by a series of distractions - a handsome Irishman, Seamus, who also dances, a drunken neighbor, Dave, who threatens Gaia’s safety, and developers who want to buy Gaia’s land and build a vacation settlement that Gaia knows will threaten the ecosystem.

The author beautifully described the southern Australian coastline, and the reader can visualize the peaceful blue waves lapping the shore, and the carefree teens snorkeling and marveling at the colorful underwater life. The reader also senses the need to preserve such natural beauty. The character development is done well; as a reader, I could visualize the delicate beauty, but also the inner strength of Gaia, and the persistence of the Aboriginal boy, Jarrah, as he broke through racial and personal barriers by becoming Gaia’s friend. Dave Mason, the alcoholic neighbor, sweet Mary and Eddie trying to make a life despite racial discrimination, and carefree Seamus, were all descriptively brought to life.

Of course from the title, the sea dragons, and saving them, and their environment is the key point of the book. We only have one world. It’s full of natural beauty - delicate creatures, beautiful plants, oceans, forests, and all of us are interdependent species. Destroying one thing destroys so much more. The author did a beautiful job of pointing out the need to protect our oceans, and forests and wildlife in order to save us all. And she did so by telling a very readable story of joy, loss, fear, determination, acceptance, and love.

As disclosure, I was sent an ARC of Jenni Ogden’s Dancing with Dragons by Netgalley. . I enjoyed the read. It made me think more seriously about preserving the environment. The opinions and review are my unbiased thoughts. I would definitely recommend this book.

A well written story telling of one girls journey, after a family tragedy, how she became whole again, with the help of her local environment, nature and it's all encompassing healing benefits. Wonderful descriptive writing, about weedy sea dragons, as well as beautiful description of coral reefs, and all it holds, on the coast of WA. How one persons perseverance can preserve, what would have been lost, to all. How our indigenous know the land, sea and all those who live, work. A great story, well worth reading. Especially as one can imagine being in the water, or on the sand. Loved it makes me want to go there and experience the serenity, and nature at its best, especially whale sharks .

I could see what the author was trying to do with this book, but it felt as a reader that I was either innundated with stress and trauma events that were happening or just waiting for the story to move beyond descriptions of Gaia's home and days on the farm.

While the theme of ocean and reef conversation carried throughout it was frequently lost in a convoluted story.

Despite the sometimes long-winded (half page sentences) descriptions of nature, the story itself kept me interested in the characters and what was going to happen.

The premise for this book was intriguing, and the ocean and wilderness imagery described is breathtaking. It’s very descriptive and the author did a beautiful job with it.

However, the story itself was disappointing. The writing was clunky; a lot of the main storyline happened in the first part of the book, and the pace slowed down a lot after that. I found that we didn’t get to see a lot of depth in the characters, so as a result I struggled to connect with them.

I thought that I would love this one, but was unfortunately left wanting a lot more.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I want a sequel. I fell in love with Gaia and Jarrah, and I need to know the rest of their story.

I truly appreciate when I come across a story that is just a simple, yet deep, story of life. Oh, I love me some thrillers or stories with heartbreaking angst. However, when I just need to recharge, I need a story like this one about people just trying to make it through life, honoring their true selves, while trying to inflict as little damage on the world and others as they do. This was truly beautiful. And I learned about Seadragons and reef life which is not usually something I would be drawn to. I'd say this one is a resounding success all around.

Thank you to Sea Dragon Press, Jenni Ogden and Netgalley for sharing a advance copy of this beautiful book.

4/5 ✨

I enjoyed reading this book (with probably one of the best covers ever), although it took me a while to complete it because of the way it starts. Gaia's resilience in the story after enduring so many struggles makes me think about the wonderful sea dragons she loves, those delicate and fragile creatures surviving and thriving in hostile environment for all these years. I also love the friendship she shares with people like Jarrah, Eddie, Mary and Seamus. Initially, I was little turned off with Jarrah's fascination of Gaia from a distance at the beginning, but the love they both have for each other is truly one of a kind. This book also explores topics like racism, family drama, disability. Even though the prose isn't spectacular by any means, I really loved reading the parts where Gaia and her friends were exploring the coral reefs. It felt like I was right there, next to Gaia and Jarrah, snorkeling, getting captivated by the sight of those beautiful sea dragons and other sea life. This book also reminded me of "When the Crawdads Sing", which is one of my favorite reads. I can't wait to check out the author's other works. I also noticed a historical inaccuracy with the release of the certain movie in this book which I'm not sure whether it's there because it's an ARC.

I recently read Dancing with Dragons by Jenni Ogden and it is one I would definitely recommend!

Set in the 1970s in rural Western Australia, this coming of age story juxtaposes the mesmerizing beauty of ballet with the ethereal beauty of the sea dragons who live in the coral reef. The story begins with Gaia and her brother Bron, who are homeschooled and study the art of ballet under the tutelage of their mother, a former professional dancer, followed by experiential learning about their environment by snorkeling in the reef. Everything changes with a catastrophic fire leaves Gaia with serious burns covering much of her body, no home and an orphan. Gaia is determined to get back to her land as soon as she has recovered and is old enough to return on her own. Despite being self-conscious about her scars, Gaia eventually begins to dance again and her love of the land she grew up in continues to grow as she tries to make it on her own.

I loved watching this story unfold, and learning more about Australian culture and natural physical beauty, especially the wildlife. As a former dancer myself, I of course enjoyed the dance elements of the story, and seeing it from this particular time and place in history. I also really appreciated the way that the author slowly unpacked some of the more mysterious or unexpected background information, as it felt realistic that as Gaia grew up more pieces of the story would become known to her. As a reader you are learning along with Gaia about the secrets of the past. The author started with a disclaimer about the Indigenous peoples of Australia and their connection to the land, and I thought that was so important and relevant, but I also loved that the author included some of the negative stereotypes and racism that these Indigenous people faced and still face today.

There were many moments throughout the story that reminded me of Where the Crawdads Sing, so if you liked that one, I would definitely recommend checking this one out. Dancing with Dragons is being published in July so add this one to your TBR! Thanks to @netgalley and the author for giving me the chance to read and review this breathtaking story!

A very enjoyable book that i won’t hesitate to recommend to others. Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

The imagery in this book while describing the ocean life was breathtaking. It made me feel like I was there experiencing the wonders of the ocean with these characters. I would have liked to see more growth with the characters throughout the book. I thought some aspects of the character relationships were a bit rushed. Sometimes the sentence structure was choppy feeling, but the descriptions of the wildlife/ocean life were beautifully drawn out. Those were my favorite parts. The book had a slower beginning pace, but definitely picked up more just before the halfway mark. Overall, I really liked the setting of the book, the beautiful imagery, and the plot, but wish there was more time spent on character relationships/development.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for choosing to send me an advance copy to preview. I previewed two other Jenni Ogden novels, so the advance copy was an unexpected treat.

Dancing with Dragons has a beautiful cover and the dragons of the title are marine creatures that live in the reef in a particular to southern Australia and the particular lower part of Western Australia. The preservation of their habitat and the importance of their role in the reef forms a central theme of the novel, as does love, loss and recovery.

The novel is based in Western Australia south of Perth, and the central character is Gaia a young ballet dancer must restart her life back at her homestead after losing her parents and home in a fire. Gaia is scarred physically and emotionally but through dancing, snorkeling, friendships and her love of the environment and ballet she finds new meaning and direction to her life.

The reef and the Seadragons are all brought to life through the Ogden's vivid writing and you really do find yourself routing for Gaia in defending their habitat against the faceless businessman.

Dancing with Dragons by Jenni Ogden tells the story of Gaia, a young girl growing up on a remote farm in Western Australia in the late 1970’s. Gaia is learning ballet along with her older brother, Bron, taught by their mother who was once a principal ballerina in New York. A tragic accident leaves Gaia living on the farm alone and isolated. But Gaia finds solace in nature and the ocean and ends up fighting to keep her land out of the clutches of developers. Jenni Ogden once again weaves an incredible story of triumph through tribulation with a complicated, independent, fierce heroine. I so enjoyed getting to know and rooting for Gaia.