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Minnie Capstan is a few months away from her 18th birthday. For most girls, this would be a welcome milestone, but Minnie is not looking forward to it. Minnie lives a simple life at home with her parents, Jewish grandmother, three younger sisters, and little brother. But she fears that at the eighteen mark her parents will push her out, just as they did with her four older siblings, to “experience” the world. Not for her own well-being, but to have one less mouth to feed. Being the middle child of a half American Indian and half Russian Jewish family in the 1950’s, Minnie has never really felt she had a place in the world. That is, until a traveling carnival comes into town and she meets handsome Alfredo Santori, carnival manager.
Reserved, moody Alfredo Santori is comfortable with the traveling and loneliness of life in the carnival. When Minnie accepts a job with the carnival as a cook, Alfredo’s world gets turned upside-down. Alfredo had been instantly attracted to Minnie the first time he saw her at her parent’s hardware shop but he had been able to put that attraction aside since he knew he would move on with the carnival. Now that Minnie is near him on a daily basis, Alfredo finds it hard to keep their relationship friendly, especially since she is only seventeen. Besides, he has secrets that would ruin their friendship, let alone allow them to get romantically involved.
Will Minnie finally find a place of acceptance among the carnival family? Can Alfredo overcome his past deeds and accept the love Minnie offers, without question, so they can DANCE IN CIRCLES together for the rest of their lives?
A coming-of-age story set in 1950’s California, DANCING IN CIRCLES is a heartwarming story of growing up and first love. Debra Tash does an exceptional job of portraying the racial conflicts many people had to deal with in the 1950’s. Minnie is a fresh, clever heroine who, despite her misgivings and age, plunges ahead into the unknown and comes up dancing. The secondary characters give comic relief to the racial undercurrent of the story. From Minnie’s kosher grandmother and her use of Yiddish, to the carnival owner, Goldie Bloomberg, who carries her dead husband’s ashes in a mayonnaise jar, each one brings a great whimsical perspective to the story. Young and old alike will delight in DANCING IN CIRCLES, and if you don’t like it…well, since I don’t have a hat to eat, I'll dance a jig…in circles.
Reviewed by Tina Burns
for The Road to Romance
March 22, 2004
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