Dancing with Elvis

Publishers Weekly

This debut novel set in the 1950s has a strong Southern flavor and a feisty, foul-mouthed heroine, who will have readers alternately laughing and sympathizing with her torment caused by a not-so-temporary houseguest. Fourteen-year-old Frankilee Baxter and her parents think they're doing their Christian duty by taking in Angelica Musseldorf, who has been abused by her mother. However, it soon becomes apparent that the Baxters have "bit off more than [they] could chew" in the words of their wise housekeeper. Not only does Angelica turn out to be a demanding (and lazy) brat, but she also flirts with anything in pants, including Frankilee's "handsome heartthrob" cousin and her "old coot" of a grandfather. Adding insult to injury, Angelica, with her blonde hair and curvy figure, is able to nab "everybody's dreamboat," James Colton, while Frankilee, "the perfect human matchstick," is stuck with dull Jerry Fred Porter. Besides conveying Frankilee's day-to-day annoyances with Angelica (who always places herself center stage), the novel addresses more serious issues of small-town prejudice, risings against integration and the murder of a young African-American athlete. At once charming, sharp-edged and tragic, the book captures the essence of eccentrics, manipulators, victims and criminals co-existing in pre-civil rights-era Texas. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Flashback to 1956. The Civil Rights movement is gaining momentum. Integration is a hot topic. Elvis is king. This is the world Frankilee Baxter is growing up in. Frankilee is an out-spoken, strong-willed young woman in a time when young women were supposed to be sweet and docile. One day she meets Angel Musseldorf, an abused (or so it seems) girl who eventually comes to live with Frankilee. Angel is perfect and has become Frankilee's mother's new project. Add to the mix Wanita, the Baxter's black maid, her son William, an acting camp, and a shooting, and you have this book. Frankilee is a wonderful character, full of spirit and adventure. Her voice makes the book one that you want to read aloud to the person next to you. However, as a story it tries to cover too many issues. Frankilee is involved in too many plot twists, none of which are adequately resolved. Still it is hard to dislike a book with such an original and engaging character as Frankilee. 2005, Eerdmans, Ages 13 to 18.
—Heather Mason

VOYA

In 1956, tall, skinny, fourteen-year-old Frankielee Baxter is miserable. Ever since she and her do-gooder mother rescued Angel Musseldorf from her abusive family, her life has been ruined. When Angel moves in with the Baxters, Frankielee realizes that not only is Angel annoyingly beautiful, popular, and talented, but also she is a clothes thief and maybe even a nymphomaniac. Life outside her home is little better; her small Texas community is coping extremely badly with school integration. Even as she dreams of the day Elvis will come to rescue her, Frankielee is realistic enough to remake her own life. She plots to get rid of Angel, starts an Elvis fan club, and makes a graduation speech promoting integration. What she does not plan is her involvement in a shooting with racist overtones, an amateurish burglary, and a complicated kidnapping scheme. Frankielee is a delight-a feisty, impulsive, and salty-tongued girl whose vivid personality easily overshadows the rest of the novel's characters. Angel is almost too awful to be real, while Frankielee's parents never seem fully developed. The African American characters verge on the stereotypical. The novel provides a fairly accurate portrait of Southern life in the 1950s, with some charming details fleshing out the story. Too many plot threads, some never resolved, muddle the narrative. The surprisingly violent climax might shock some readers. Although not recommended for teens looking for inspirational fiction, this novel might appeal to readers who enjoy a challenge. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Eerdmans, 323p., $17. Ages 15 to 18.
—Jamie Hansen

School Library Journal

Gr 7-9-Frankilee Baxter's world is turned upside down when she and her mother decide to rescue a girl from an abusive situation. Not only does Angel move in, but she immediately begins to take over the household. However, only 14-year-old Frankilee and the Baxters' housekeeper see the manipulative and demanding ways behind the bright smile. Stephenson has packed this novel with enough action to keep readers from putting it down. The girls compete for the same boy, but Angel wins; both of them take music lessons, but Frankilee is asked not to return. Because the setting is in rural west Texas during the late 1950s, there is the problem of integration and how it affects a community not accustomed to change. The author has included enough period detail to give the book an interesting flair. It is accurate in its portrayal of the people and the times but some readers might not be able to relate to all of it. Still, it's a good coming-of-age story.-Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Every night after saying her prayers, with posters of Jesus and Elvis looking down on her, 14-year-old Frankilee Baxter thinks about murdering Angel Musseldorf. In a great act of Presbyterian charity, Frankilee and her mother have taken Angel away from abusive parents to become part of their family. Their housekeeper, however, says, "there something about that girl that just do not ring true." Sure enough, Angel is no angel; she's more an over-sexed, racist, lying, manipulative slut and "dumb as a box of Kleenex," at least as Frankilee puts it. Clover, Texas, in 1956, is a busy place. Armed desperadoes, kidnapping, extortion, fires, shootings, beatings and cross burnings keep the episodic plot moving, though there's enough here for more than one novel. Voice and characterization are superb, with many scenes that beg to be read aloud, though Frankilee's "potty mouth" could be a problem. A fine first novel and an author to watch. (Fiction. 12+)