Golden Earrings

July 1, 2015
A pair of gold hoop earrings given to Paloma Batton by a ghost anchors parallel story lines in this emotionally rich saga of a young dancer torn between clashing desires. Orphaned by her mother's death and estranged from her now-remarried father, Paloma lives and works in Paris with her grandmother, a former ballerina. Her lifelong goal is to win a place in the Paris Opera Ballet. But a chance meeting with a Gypsy woman and her invitation to take flamenco lessons (a handsome guitar player accompanies) piques her interest in her Spanish heritage. Her flamenco lessons, along with her new-found Gypsy cohort, become an obsession. Growing suspense, the appeal of dance, passion, and a tinge of magic keep readers eagerly flipping pages. Aside from Paloma's rather-too-numerous coincidental meetings and opportunities, this is storytelling at its finest. Australian writer Alexandra's novels (including White Gardenia, 2015), now more readily available in America, are sure to be popular with romantic-historical-fiction readers who love Rosie Thomas (Kashmir Shawl, 2013) and the parallel, suspenseful stories of Kate Morton (The Forgotten Garden, 2009).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)