Steel’s singing starlet steals the limelight

THE HIGH NOTES Danielle Steel Pan MacMillan

Review: Orielle Berry

DANIELLE Steel is one of the world’s most popular writers; with close to a whopping one billion copies sold of the dozens of books she has penned.

In her latest, she writes astutely, once again, about rising against the odds, this time on the life of a singer.

Iris Cooper has grown up under the most difficult of circumstances, being toted around by her whisky-swilling layabout dad – a dirt poor cowboy with no conscience, least of all for his daughter.

She’s always shown an aptitude for singing and everybody talks about how well Iris hits the high notes. Dragged around by her itinerant dad from pub to pub to perform on stage – she has a miserable childhood – often sleeping in the pick-up van while dad’s cavorting around with the loose ladies.

As she grows up and leaves her father, she travels around the country, singing in different towns, often being exploited by unscrupulous managers, who pay her peanuts as they line their pockets with her hard-earned bucks.

But people start to notice her, and a pivotal friendship with a talented male singer, Boy, gives the pair together the confidence to make a lucky break.

Luck rains down on them in a big way when they hit the Big Apple and their talent is nurtured by one of the country’s top agents. He’s also a decent man.

Iris goes from strength to strength as a star is born – showing how sheer determination, perseverance and of course, inner talent, win. It all makes for a fascinating read as Steele describes the life of initially struggling entertainers and then those, like the talented Iris, who finally get what they truly deserve and make it big.