A powerful novel for today's teens

When I was dancing, I was free. When I danced, I forgot about my nightmares, my mother, my family, my heartache, and my fears.

When I stopped dancing, everything came crashing back down on me.

To outsiders, Rikki Coleman is a model student; co-dance head for the upcoming school production; a fun-loving friend. But on the inside, Rikki and her older sister Daniella are struggling to cope with their desperate home situation, which they must keep hidden at all costs. When their mother’s mental illness reaches new depths, the facade that the two sisters have worked so hard to build is shattered.

The girls valiantly attempt to keep their lives afloat, guarding their horrifying secrets from well-meaning friends and teachers who want to help. They’re worn out by the deception, but can’t imagine any other solution. Will Rikki and Daniella be able to transcend the secrecy that has ruled their lives and find the help they need to recover?

In Dancing in the Dark, new novelist Shoshana Mael masterfully tells an engrossing story of painful experiences, haunting memories, and unwavering determination to move forward. Readers will be riveted by the sisters’ struggle to hide their pain, and their painstaking efforts to reach for the hands that may finally allow them to dance in the light.