A look at teenage life during WWII

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	• Ten Cents a Dance Christine Fletcher Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2008 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A look at teenage life during WWII

Ten Cents a Dance begins with an exciting opening scene and continues to deliver throughout the novel.

I usually don't say much about plot because it isn't as important to me as the characters are; however, the plot was amazing in this novel. I loved it. It was just as important and intriguing as the characters.

I thought each character was well developed, even the more minor characters. I felt like I was given a glimpse into the soul of each and came away having an understanding of each character and their actions.

Another aspect of the novel I loved was the historical one. I have always loved history and reading books set in the 1940s and earlier, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed the historical setting of Ten Cents a Dance. I had never heard of taxi-dancers before and loved learning all about this particular event in history.

The only problem I had with Ten Cents a Dance was that I wanted more, which isn't really a problem at all. I was invested in every single character so I really wish I knew what happened with more of the minor characters like Stan, Angie, Manny, etc.

I absolutely loved this book. It pulled me in from the beginning and would not let go. This is definitely a book I'll be recommending every chance I get. Go buy it now, you won't regret it!

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A great book for ages 14 to 114

[Excerpted from www.worducopia.blogspot.com]
I never lived during the 1940s and neither did Christine Fletcher, but after reading "Ten Cents a Dance" I'm almost convinced that we've been kicking around in Chicago together with Ruby Jacinski, 60 years ago. The music, the language, the smell of the meat-packing plants--it's all very real, in these pages.

Also real is the sense of hopelessness that comes with poverty, with the beginning of a war, and with being a young woman in a time of double standards, when marrying well was considered by many to be the best chance of success. Like the proverbial bull crashing through life's china shops (Well, smarter and far more feminine, of course, than the average bull), Ruby's next move is never predictable except in that it's likely to lead to disaster. But she'll never choose to give in--for Ruby, giving in means giving up on herself, on her family, and on ever leaving the Yards.

This makes the book sound very serious, and it is. But Ruby's plucky stubborness sets her firmly in the middle of near-impossible situations, and watching how she navigates her way out of them will bring frequent smiles and the occasional right-out-loud laugh or gasp of horror (she did what?!).

I wondered, as I read, how on earth this story could lead to an ending that wouldn't leave the reader disappointed: in Ruby, and in the book. But Fletcher comes through beautifully. Like a dish of sorbet after a heavy meal, the final chapter is just enough to give closure on Ruby's taxi-dancing misadventure, without overdoing it.

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unique look at the WWII homefront

Ruby's Jacinski's life would be hard for anyone, but the fact that she's 16 makes it nearly unbearable. She's living in the stockyard district of Chicago, bottling pig's feet for a living so that she, her mother, and her younger sister can survive. The 1940s, when this book takes place, were an interesting intersection, technologically speaking. Ruby is living, virtually, a turn of the century lifestyle. She shares a bathroom with all the other people in her building. They have an icebox, a coal stove, no warm water. And literally five blocks down, people have electric refrigerators and private bathrooms.

Ruby wants out. A man she meets gives her a tip about "taxi dance halls," and suggests that she would make a good dancer. After creating a suitable cover story for her mother, Ruby dives headfirst into the underworld of Chicago nightlife. Earning ten cents per dance and working with girls who are willing to do more than dance with the men they meet, Ruby gets a quick and dirty education. There are people from all sides hounding her - crazies she meets at the dance hall, fellow dancers, her mother, her sister. And, as the book goes on, Ruby finds herself falling in love.

I couldn't put the book down, and her story is a very unique and intriguing one. I just kept thinking "no no no no, Ruby!! Don't do that, you idiot!!" She was a teenager living in a world with real life gangsters and dime a dozen prostitutes. She is a tough cookie - throwing punches more than once, but she was also so naive and made such horrible choices. While I'd say this is definitely a young adult book, it really deals with very adult issues and while there is definitely romance, I can't say it is particularly romantic.

The author took great care to be historically accurate. She paints an excellent picture of one of my favorite cities - and because my grandmother grew up during this time in this same city, I know she even got the feel and language of the city just right. She's given us a completely new look at the WWII homefront and I'm glad I read it.

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Courtesy of Teens Read Too

It is the 1940's and 15-year-old Ruby Jacinski has had to step in and support her family. Her father is dead and her mother is now too sick to work. The family has had to move to a poorer neighborhood and the only work Ruby can get is at the meat-packing plant, earning $12.25 per week. Her only escape is when she meets her friends to go dancing.

One night, Ruby's entire life changes. Tough-guy Paulie Suelze tells her how she can earn up to $50 a week. That much money could change Ruby's life. She could pay off the families grocery bill, get her mother's wedding ring out of the pawn shop, and maybe even get her mother and sister out of the Back of the Yards and into a decent house.

There is a hitch to the idea. The job isn't exactly a respectable one. She would be working as a taxi dancer, a girl who dances with men for money. For the cost of a dime, lonely men purchase the illusion of having a pretty girl who is interested in them, even if it is only for the length of a song. Since dancing is what Ruby does best, she figures there will be no problem earning that much money.

Ruby quits her job at the plant and devises a story so that her mother will let her stay out late every night, when the Dance Halls do their business. Ruby soon finds herself leading two lives and hiding each from the other.

Taxi dancing proves to be more complicated than Ruby thought. There is a hierarchy of girls to navigate through and earning good money means learning the act of subtle manipulation with the clients. Ruby soon learns that the world of taxi dancing is a complicated one and, as her new friend Peggy tells her, "every taxi dancer has a story."

Will Ruby be able to separate herself from this new world or will she become another one of its casualties? Will she ever be able to return to her old life? Is it possible to return to an innocent existence after seeing another side of life?

TEN CENTS A DANCE was inspired by a member of author Christine Fletcher's own family. The story of Sofia, as explained in the book, is about a family member who was lost for several years. She had been shamed and banished from the family only to return years later. Sofia had been a taxi dancer and went to great lengths to hide her true life from her family. It was only after her death that the truth came to light. Fletcher began to research taxi dancers, which led to the creation of Ruby.

This is an amazing story that vividly describes what it must have been like to be young and offered such a great opportunity and terrible burden at the same time. Ruby is a very realistic character with enough spunk to inspire anyone. The dialogue is rich with the language of the time and the spirit of pre-war America has been accurately represented.

TEN CENTS A DANCE will leave a lasting impression.

Reviewed by: JodiG.

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Liv's Book Reviews

Before reading this book, I hadn't read a ton of detailed historical fiction before. I wasn't sure how I was going to like it, and surprisingly, it really struck a chord with me. I loved how it covered a time period that I didn't know much about and how we were able to see it all through the eyes of someone who was easy to relate to, and real. Ruby reacted the same way any of us would have reacted in her situations and for that, I was drawn into the story completely. It slowed down a little at some parts, but there was sure to be a huge twist on the way to pull me under again. I also liked how this book wasn't so much about the action, but about the setting and making it come alive for the reader, which it really did. I was able to perfectly picture the dance hall, the black and tans, the dresses Ruby wore, and the factory she worked at in the beginning of the book. Description and details were everywhere which was wonderful. I think the other thing that made the book work was how the plot wasn't sugar coated - it showed the ugly underside of life in the 40's; not glossing over the gory parts. I was able to read about what things would have actually been like had I been living in those times. The plot twists were realistic and unexpected and everything felt as if it had been carefully planned out to add more to the story. I would definitely recommend this book if your looking for something that will teach you things but also take you back in time and sweep you away into a world that you never thought you'd experience. Even if you aren't a history lover, you'll definitely like Ten Cents A Dance.

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reviews: page 1, 2

With her mother ill, it?s up to fifteen-year-old Ruby Jacinski to support her family. But in the 1940s, the only opportunities open to a Polish-American girl from Chicago?s poor Yards is a job in one of the meat packing plants. Through a chance meeting with a local tough, Ruby lands a job as a taxi dancer and soon becomes an expert in the art of ?fishing?: working her patrons for meals, cash, clothes, even jewelry. Drawn ever deeper into the world of dance halls, jazz, and the mob, Ruby gradually realizes that the only one who can save her is herself. A mesmerizing look into a little known world and era.

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