Book Review: A Dance for Three by Louise Plummer

Plummer, Louise. A Dance for Three. New York: Laurel-Leaf, 2000.

Milo wasn’t the first boy to kiss me but he was the first one to bite me. I said “Ouch,” and he said, “Let me lick it better.” It was when his mouth was on my shoulder and his hands tugged my camisole down that I knew I would go all the way with him. I would lose my virginity with Milo in the back of his Toyota 4Runner parked above the cemetery with the lights of Salt Lake City below. Not that we were looking. I kissed him fiercely. Too fiercely. He said, “Slow down; it’s better slow.”
Did I do it because I loved him or because he was so persuasive? Did I do it because I knew Mama wouldn’t approve? Did I want a baby? Or maybe it was the madness taking hold inside me.

Hannah has just discovered that she is pregnant with Milo’s baby. But it’s okay, because Milo makes everything okay. He always knows what to say, and how to fix the situation. She knows that he’ll marry her and take her away from her mother, who is teetering on the edge of insanity ever since Hannah’s father died. Milo will fix everything.

So intense. The entire first third of the book, you can see exactly where it’s going, but it’s like when you’re driving a car and an accident’s just about to happen…you only have the presence of mind to cringe. Then it still surprises you.

The characters were over-the-top, maybe, but they felt so real. Ms. Plummer KNOWS her characters, she knows exactly what they would do when put in those situations. Brilliant novel. I could hardly put it down, regardless of anything else I had going on that day. I highly recommend it as one of the best novels dealing with teen pregnancy. It's also a wonderful example of a book that incorporates religion without letting it take over the storyline.