Hoopi Shoopi Donna - by Suzanne Strempek Shea (Paperback)

About the Book

This second novel from the author of the charming "Selling the Lite of Heaven" is another slice of Polish-American family life with enormous appeal. It is the story of Donna Milewski, whose father's dream for her was to lead her own all-girl polka band. Then came Betty, tiny and adorable, from Poland--and a split between Donna and her father that only their beloved music could heal. Local author signings.

Book Synopsis

Growing up in a small New England town, 14 year-old Donna Milewski had all she needed: a grandmother, Babci, whose fragrant cooking filled their home...her mother, Helen, who lovingly stitched outfits...and Adam, the most wonderful father a daughter could imagine, who dreamed she could one day lead an all-girl polka band.
Then came Betty, a tiny and adorable five-year-old, sent from Poland by Adam's destitute brother. Bringing with her only a rubber doll's leg and her old-world charm, Betty became the little sister Donna never had -- and a threat to her father's love. During a long and painful rift, a dance of betrayal and hurt, Donna must look to her beloved polka music for the key to healing.

Review Quotes

Ellen Feldman New York Newsday "Shea has written a wry, beautifully rendered novel that is touching but never sentimental, a generous-spirited story of the terrible fragility and ultimate redemption of family love.
She may just be the fiction find of the summer."

Margaret Carlin Rocky Mountain News "She's what Amy Tan is to Chinese Americans, Isaac Bashevis Singer to the Jews, Jimmy Breslin to the Irish, Mario Puzo to Italinas, Terry MacMillan to African-Americans...her novels give us a window into the warmth and humor of Polish American life."

About the Author

Suzanne Strempek Shea, winner of the 2000 New England Book Award for Fiction, is the author of the novels Selling the Lite of Heaven; Hoopi Shoopi Donna; Lily of the Valley; and Around Again; and the memoirs Songs from a Lead-Lined Room: Notes -- High and Low -- From My Journey Through Breast Cancer and Radiation; and Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Bookstore. She lives in Bondsville, Massachusetts