ABOUT THE BOOK

About the Book

Himba Pond Dance

Trey Hollinswood, 15, and his thirteen-year-old sister Kim are dealing with a lot: Their parents separate; the bank forecloses on their home; they stay with their mom in a homeless shelter and then in the home of a customer, Walt, she meets at work. The atmosphere at Walt’s is tense and life for Trey and Kim is made more difficult because they’re forced to share a bedroom. Like all young people, they have issues; Trey his burgeoning sex drive and Kim the fact that she has no interest in acting or looking girlish and is sometimes mistaken for a boy. They struggle to grow up and, in the process, learn about love and the importance of friendship; Trey with Julie, Walt’s seventeen-year-old daughter, and Emily, a cotillion partner, and Kim with Cyd, a girl she meets in her soccer league. Their coming-of-age stories are two of many stories about people of all ages dealing with life and relationships in Southern California during the Great Recession.

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“Dave Gioia’s provocative second novel, Himba Pond Dance, follows naturally on the heels of his debut, Valley of Saint Anne. In both books, Gioia considers mature themes in a frank voice and focuses on the thoughts and feelings of young teenagers exploring their sexuality…Himba Pond Dance offers a refreshingly honest look at relationships and some surprising insights into the teenage mind”

Foreward Clarion Reviews

“I absolutely loved this book. It’s a wonderful story about learning to trust and opening your heart and your mind to new things. This book made me cry. I fell in love with these characters. My favorites were definitely Kim and Cyd and Trey. I could definitely relate to this book in a lot of different ways. I’ve been homeless, I’ve had girlfriends, I’ve been a cutter since I was 13, I’ve been abused and cheated on. I know how these characters feel so I absolutely love this book. When I was reading this, I was living their pain and rejoicing when they did. I would recommend this book to anybody because everybody can relate to this book in one way or another.“

Goodreads Reader Review

“This is a beautifully woven collection of characters whose stories come together as they experience personal transformation. I read this on my iPhone, which meant constant pinching and scrolling, but I couldn’t put it down!“

Amazon Reader Review

Himba Pond Dance

If you’re like most people in the U.S., or the Western world for that matter, you didn’t escape the effects of the financial crisis of 2008 and ensuing market meltdown and decline in the value of investments and real estate and loss of savings. This is the story of one Southern California family’s struggle to survive it.