The Flamenco Academy

By: Sarah Bird

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

Rae's life falls apart when her father dies of cancer and her mother joins a religious cult. The only person who understands Rae is local bad girl Didi, who is experiencing a similar loss. Both girls fall in love with handsome flamenco guitarist Tomás Montenegro, whose aunt teaches at the university's flamenco academy. Rae and Didi take the class and become obsessed with the dance. In time, their love triangle plays out on an international stage, when Rae, Didi, and Tomás becoming the rising stars of flamenco.©2006 Sarah Bird (P)2007 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"A story brimming with romance and visceral details of flamenco, its music and its history." (Publishers Weekly)
"Funny and beautifully structured to create anticipation and suspense, with lush moments of romance and a surprisingly sturdy backbone." (Kirkus Reviews)

love flamenco, love NM

I enjoyed this book. i am a native nuevomexicana and have studied flamenco off and on at the University of New Mexico. there is an enchatment about both flamenco and NM and this book captures that tie very well. the story at times was a little too dramatic for my taste, but overall it was a great book.

Captivating

The beginning was slow, and felt like it took too long to set the up the characters, but after the intial staging, I could not stop listening to this book. I was captivated by the hypnotic way she pronounced the names, the places the flamenco. It made me want to research the dance, the places she mentioned and the history of the Gypsy. I was transported back and could hear the guitar the clicking of the shoes and the wailing of poet. I was constantly amazed at the twists and turns as the characters developed matured. I am a romantic, and this book certainly fulfilled my high expectations.

Mesmerizing

Maybe because I'm a beginning flamenca, but I loved this book, word-for-word. Yes, the plot is romantic, but the real love affair is between dancers and their dance. The narrator is brilliant, channeling the eternal heartbreak of the gypsies through the losses, thwarted loves and difficult friendship of the principal character. I do not think this book would have been as good if I had read it, rather than "heard" it!

Flamenco Puro

I love this book! This is my second reading, for it called to me across the decade since I had first read it. Fascinating in the history it tells, wonderful in the passion it explores, and made even more excellent with a reader who has the perfect accent. I walk around all day with the phrases in my head. A masterpiece!

Excellent

I read this book about 6-7 years ago and loved it then... But I have to say with a little extra age and the brilliant delivery of the performer, this has easily become one of my favorite books of all time. Literary preference is intensely subjective; this book resonates with me on a very personal level. I am from NM and I am also a pale, strawberry blonde in love with a culture different from my own. But all that aside, the rich story telling and the deep character development has created a novel that completely transplants me as I read or listen to it. Also, Alyssa's (performer) ability to deliver all the accents and speak the language was fantastic and seriously well executed.