Dangerous Spaces offers sensitive insights into the process by which Anthea deals with the death of her parents. Anthea at first refuses to accept their death, then becomes angry at their abandoning her, and finally accepts their death, reconciling herself to her future with her new family.

Part of Anthea's reconciliation also requires her to accommodate the less affluent and less ordered lifestyle of her cousin and to recognize the values that her new family can bring to her life. She must learn to live less like a princess and more like a member of the family who must work and contribute for the good of all.

The mystical or occult aspect of the novel may be troubling for some readers, especially as it is presented not as only the aberration of Anthea's psyche but as a vision shared by Flora. As Josephine Raburn suggests, Mahy's...