I had not read the Drina books since I was a child and I recently re-read them all. I read the first 5 as a child and then as a teen I hunted down the final 6 once I realized they existed. I am happy to say that for the most part they hold up to the test of time. They are very much in the style of British school stories but I quite like those. I think the whole series is definitely worth the effort it takes to hunt them down.

Not my favourite but oh so lovely to be back in the land of Drina.

Still enjoying the series but it's getting more repetitive now. The earlier ones were better, I think.

This was a good book in the series where a lot of plot lines and characters are developing. Drina starts by acting in Diary of a Dancer for a few weeks but her grandfather then becomes seriously ill and she learns for the first time how tough being a performer can be and that the show must go on even if someone you know is at death's door. Meanwhile her friendship with Jenny continues to be awkward as Jenny is going through a rough time at home. Her friendships with Rose and Ilonka go from strength to strength but she becomes very tired from all this work and finishing term at the Dominick where Queenie and her cousin Sylvia make her life hard. Her grandparents then tell her that they are going somewhere hot in order for her grandfather to recouperate and Drina helps them choose Maderia where she of course ends up dancing!

I enjoyed this one as a lot of things changed in Drina's world and she has to deal with the angst and the guilt of puberty along with her buried feelings for Grant. Her grandmother seems even sterner in this one and can't seem to relinquish control. Even though this was a good read it wasn't as good as Drina Dances in Paris which is just magical!

Read this series in JR High and simply LOVED them! I need to track these down.....

# 8 In the Series:
Drina travels to Africa with her grandparents so that her grandfather can recover from a nasty bout of pneumonia. On the ship is a local ballet company and they ask her to perform with them. A male member of the ballet company falls in love with her (she has the men dropping like flies).

Not one of the better ones - everything seemed just a bit too much.

see review of book #1