Book Talk: The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Reader

Publication Date: February 11, 2011

Series or Standalone: Standalone

ISBN: 978-0385736916

Format: Paperback, 528 pages

Description: Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.


Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

First line: For months, I relived the pas de deux in my dreams, in that multisensory Technicolor of a memory I'd much rather forget.

The reason I picked up this books was the cover. Seriously. We have a Delacorte poster at work with all these book covers on it--and from the first day I saw it (and each time I walked past it) I liked the cover. So, when it finally graced the shelves, I picked it up and read the prologue. Then, I was hooked and home we went.


The book is about Sylvie Davis--ballerina extraordinare who messes up a landing and shatters her career, as well her leg. After her mother remarries (and Sylvie makes a big mistake), Sylvie goes to spend a month in Alabama with her cousin. When the city girl is thrust into the country, her nerve isn't the only thing to go. Her sanity is on the line as well because now, Sylvie can see ghosts.


I liked Sylvie--she was spunky and mean and somewhat spoiled and annoying, but I liked her. I would be mean too if I'd lost everything I'd worked my whole life for and thrust into the deep south. As someone who lived in the south for years, I understand the way it can be overwhelming. I'm not a prima ballerina but I relate. The discovery she makes about herself throughout this book isn't the one you expect her to find. It's still important.


There's a Welsh guy in this book; his name is Rhys. I like men with accents. There's also a Southern boy; his name is Shawn. These are the best two kinds of guys--ones with accents. Of course, I rooted for the English boy. He was snappy and handsome, whereas Shawn was good-ole-boy. Both make for some good reading. Which reminds me, Sylvie knows what she wants and she stands up for it.


The story was full of magic and ghosts and mysteries galore. I never figured out what was happening, which makes for a good story! My only qualm with the book was that it was 528 pages. Pages that were overstuffed with excessive descriptions and internal dialogue. I know that I skipped over too many pages. It took too long for things to really start taking shape. It could've happened quicker and deleted all the excess. Despite that, it was still a great read.