Bird With the Heart of a Mountain, Barbara Mariconda
Bird With the Heart of a Mountain, Barbara Mariconda
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Bird With the Heart of a Mountain

Author: Barbara Mariconda

Narrator: Roxanne Hernandez

Unabridged: 9 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 02/25/2014

Synopsis

I throw back my tumble of black hair, roll one bare shoulder forward, then the other. The stack of bangles on each wrist shimmies and slides as my hands rise like birds in flight.Set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War, sixteen-year-old Drina yearns to dance Flamenco. When she dances, she forgets who she is. She forgets what seems to be her legacy: I am nothing. I belong nowhere. Why does her mother forbid her to dance, the very thing that makes her feel alive? She wonders about the secrets her mother holds, about the rumored life she had before Drina was born—a story that somehow still holds them both prisoner.From the wandering Gypsy campagne to the vineyard estate of a paternal grandmother she has never known and the dance halls of Seville where Flamenco reigns, Drina fights to discover who she is and where she belongs. Not quite Gypsy, not quite Spanish, she must carve out an identity all her own and discover what it means to be a bird with the heart of a mountain Full of mystery, loss and longing, this powerful novel brilliantly captures a young girl’s yearning and her adventurous journey to discover her true home.

About Barbara Mariconda

Barbara Mariconda is the author of books for readers of all ages, including The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons which Kirkus Reviews praised for its “dramatic and visually stunning” prose. In writing Bird with the Heart of a Mountain it was a haunting Gypsy melody that first captured the author’s imagination, that drew her to Jerez, Spain, and into Drina’s world. She serves on the Board of Directors of Flamenco Vivo in NYC, which promotes the art of flamenco to new audiences (www.flamenco-vivo.org) and she strives to empower the next generation of young authors through her company, Empowering Writers. You can visit her online at www.barbaramariconda.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sare on October 20, 2013

Drina doesn't belong anywhere. She is half Spanish, half Gypsy and not fully accepted by either side. The Spanish civil war is raging all around, taking everything that matters away from her. Everything, that is, except her love of dance and the name that her mother called out from her death bed. W......more

Goodreads review by Alyssa on January 03, 2015

A beautiful and gripping coming of age novel. Most won't have a story like Dria's, a tale of war and horror, but everyone can understand Dria's story. wanting to find out where you belong in the world, wanting to rebel, wanting to stand up for what's right and not knowing how. A great, great novel.......more

Goodreads review by Ingrid on November 27, 2013

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Like the main character, Drina, this book dances and flows. The words are seamlessly attached, leading you on throughout the novel. Mariconda's words are beautiful- just like a dance. I could be lost in this book just for......more

Goodreads review by Tara on December 17, 2013

I’ve read many a novel about the Spanish Civil War and more often than not, flamenco is tied into the story in some manner. Compared to these two titles--The Return by Victoria Hislop and Golden Earrings by Belinda Alexandra, I found this one somewhat lacking and less inspiring as well as informativ......more

Goodreads review by Hoover Public Library on March 10, 2014

Coming-of-age during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s is extra hard for Drina, a young woman who is half Spaniard and half Gypsy. She has flamenco dance in her soul (like both her parents), but her mother never let her explore that passion since it led to her own heartbreak. Now that Drina has bee......more

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