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Ballet Books / Doll Heads Coming Home
Mar. 27th, 2026 09:31 amI finished the first Drina book, Ballet for Drina, and started immediately on Drina's Dancing Year. Wow, these are so good! I actually hate the character of Drina's grandmother, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to, because she's always described as being "kind" to Drina, and...
( spoilers )
I am on the second volume of Hinako Ashihara's Forbidden Dance. Actually, I am done with it, but I haven't finished all the "extra" stuff yet. I always dislike the extra stuff at the end of manga volumes, because I never have any interest in reading it, but I don't feel like I'm done until I do. I'm always so happy when a volume doesn't have that stuff.
Forbidden Dance is lighter reading than Drina. No parents or grandparents to deal with, just rivals, lovers, and vying for that ultimate goal. For the main character in this series, that goal is to be a member of an all-male dance troup called COOL, because it's just so, I guess, cool, and I don't understand her goal, because I would never want to be, but I still enjoy reading it. And there's actually no gender-bending in it, believe it or not. I like gender-bending sometimes, but it would have been unnecessary trope-y stuff here.
My two doll heads, Lorien's and Glynnis's, are in customs in Chicago right now. I couldn't believe the photos when Dollmore sent them. They have transformed these heads into breathtaking dolls. I feel for the first time like I actually have a Volks SDC Kurenai like I always wanted, because I've never seen her with a decent face-up before. And I had no idea that Glynnis would look this wonderful -- an inexpensive doll to begin with, and 12 years old now.
( spoilers )
I am on the second volume of Hinako Ashihara's Forbidden Dance. Actually, I am done with it, but I haven't finished all the "extra" stuff yet. I always dislike the extra stuff at the end of manga volumes, because I never have any interest in reading it, but I don't feel like I'm done until I do. I'm always so happy when a volume doesn't have that stuff.
Forbidden Dance is lighter reading than Drina. No parents or grandparents to deal with, just rivals, lovers, and vying for that ultimate goal. For the main character in this series, that goal is to be a member of an all-male dance troup called COOL, because it's just so, I guess, cool, and I don't understand her goal, because I would never want to be, but I still enjoy reading it. And there's actually no gender-bending in it, believe it or not. I like gender-bending sometimes, but it would have been unnecessary trope-y stuff here.
My two doll heads, Lorien's and Glynnis's, are in customs in Chicago right now. I couldn't believe the photos when Dollmore sent them. They have transformed these heads into breathtaking dolls. I feel for the first time like I actually have a Volks SDC Kurenai like I always wanted, because I've never seen her with a decent face-up before. And I had no idea that Glynnis would look this wonderful -- an inexpensive doll to begin with, and 12 years old now.
