Excellent! I am the mother of 5 internationally adopted daughters and I have long wished for this kind of connection for them.

Anokhi was adopted from India by a single mother, Sasha, who encourages her to go to India once she hears that a beautiful Indian woman, Shaila, has danced through Anokhi's dreams most of her life.

Anokhi sets off with the blessing of her Hawaiian boyfriend, Kale. She stays with a family friend, Jasmine Aunty, and later with Nalini, whom she meets in India. Nalini takes her to a dance festival, where Anokhi becomes entranced with Indian dance traditions, and sees her off to the next town.

There she meets a woman who sees her and knows immediately that this is the daughter of Shaila and shares their story. I won't spoil the ending but it is immensely satisfying even if it is left open-ended. In this book, it works.

From this book, I learned a lot about Indian dance traditions...things I had wanted to know, like why the dancers roll their eyes around, and it has spurred me to get on youtube and watch related videos. The only part I disliked was when Sasha (Shaila's mother) blithely allowed her to drop out of high school because she wasn't feeling it. What kind of mother would actually do that?

I really enjoyed getting to read this, it had that elmeent that I was looking for and enjoyed from start to finish. I was engaged with Anokhi and her storyline going on. It was everything that I was wanting and enjoyed from this type of book, it worked well in this genre and had that character development that I was hoping for from the description. Mohini Dasari has a strong writing style and glad I read this.

I loved this book so much! The story was very well written and I loved the travel part of this book! Highly recommend!

Dasari’s story about an adopted girl from India who has been haunted by dreams of a classical dancer kept me up late finishing it. The author writes difficult emotion with such beauty and ease — it’s so clear to see that Anokhi, initially, feels so unmoored and alone in a world where she sticks out like a sore thumb. The depth of emotion behind this actually let me to take a break from reading this book for a bit before I — very quickly — dove right back into it.

Despite the support of her adoptive mother, she wants to know more, about her past, her parents, and the world she came from. Her journey of self-discovery to India was probably my favorite part. Despite my Indian heritage, details about Indian classical dance have always been a mystery to me, and Dasari dives into the art with gorgeous prose that is at once informative but also a treat to read. Though the ending was left slightly open-ended and ambiguous, I was reassured about the course of Anokhi’s path in life.

A wonderful debut from an author from whom I can’t wait to read more.

Shaila’s Dance is a heartfelt exploration of identity and cultural rediscovery. Through Anokhi's journey, readers are offered a window into the transformative power of reconnecting with one's roots. While the pacing may be slower for some, the rich cultural tapestry and emotional depth make it a worthwhile read for those interested in stories of self-discovery and heritage.