Dresses of Red and Gold — Robin Klein

The Melling sisters and their mother are preparing for a wedding. Cathy is to be bridesmaid and her dress is a thing of awe and beauty, but not in Cathy's eyes -- she hates the idea of being a bridesmaid. Vivienne would love to wear it, and perhaps she will. 

Dresses of Red and Gold, the second book in the Melling Sisters Trilogy, is a warm and humorous story of four sisters -- their rivalries and their loyalty and affection -- growing up in an Australian country town in the 1940s

Robin Klein was born 28 February 1936 in Kempsey, New South Wales into a family of nine children. Leaving school at age 15, Klein worked several jobs before becoming established as a writer, having her first story published at age 16. She would go on to write more than 40 books, including Hating Alison Ashley (adapted into a feature film starring Delta Goodrem in 2005), Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left (adapted into a television series for the Seven Network in 1992), and Came Back to Show You I Could Fly (adapted into a film directed by Richard Lowenstein in 1993).

Klein's books are hugely celebrated, having won the CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award in both the Younger Readers and the Older Readers categories, as well as a Human Rights Award for Literature in 1989 for Came Back to Show You I Could Fly. Klein is widely considered one of Australia's most prolific and beloved YA authors.

 ‘Touching, poignant, fresh and engaging' Bulletin, USA