Overview
Love doesn’t always look like it does on television. . . .
Elvira's family has never been the warm, fuzzy type. Most of the time, Elvira can’t stand the sight of her little sister, Kerrie. Elvira and her mother, Mel, fight more often than not. Mel hasn’t spoken to her own family in years. And when Mel announces she’s pregnant again, Elvira’s daddy storms off to Las Vegas to enter an Elvis impersonator competition.
When an urgent phone call sends Elvira, Mel, and Kerrie on an unexpected trip to meet Mel’s family for the first time, Elvira discovers that love doesn’t always look like it does in television commercials. But it’s there, all right—you just have to know how to look for it.
Written by Newbery Honor winner Audrey Couloumbis, Love Me Tender is a lovely, lyrical look at a multigenerational family of strong, stubborn women working to untangle the ties that bind them together and uncover the love that’s always been just underneath.
★ “Couloumbis’ winning, witty portrayal . . . encapsulates universal truths about family relationships.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred
Synopsis
Elvira’s family has never been the warm, fuzzy type. Most of the time, Elvira can’t stand the sight of her little sister, Kerrie. Elvira and her mother, Mel, fight more often than not. Mel hasn’t spoken to her own family in years. And when Mel announces she’s pregnant again, Elvira’s daddy storms off to Las Vegas to enter an Elvis impersonator competition. But when an urgent phone call sends Elivra, Mel, and Kerrie on an unexpected trip to visit Mel’s family, Elvira discovers that love doesn’t always look like it does in television commercials–it can be as simple as a bucket of blueberries, an attic full of memories, or a song. But it’s there all right. You just have to know how to look for it.
Publishers Weekly
Couloumbis's (Getting Near to Baby ) winning, witty portrayal of a slightly neurotic American family encapsulates universal truths about family relationships. The narrator, 13-year-old Elvira, is horrified when her father leaves home after a quarrel, bound for an Elvis impersonation competition in Las Vegas even though Elvira's pregnant mother, Mel, wanted him to stay home. Elvira worries that he won't come back, but her concerns shift when, prompted by a dire phone call, Mel packs up Elvira and her younger sister, Kerrie, and drives everyone off to visit her long-estranged mother in Memphis. (Opening the door at six in the morning to a pregnant Mel arriving unannounced with the granddaughters she's never met, Mel's mother greets them flatly with, "He's left you.") Elvira, getting to know "the grandmother" (as Elvira thinks of her) and Mel's sister, Clare ("pronounced Clare-ree ," advises Elvira, "same accent on both syllables"), has ample opportunity to reflect on families, her own attitudes about being an older sister and daughter, and the origins of family rifts. Tart characterizations, lively dialogue and Elvira's frank narration keep this perceptive novel both credible and buoyant. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Couloumbis's (Getting Near to Baby ) winning, witty portrayal of a slightly neurotic American family encapsulates universal truths about family relationships. The narrator, 13-year-old Elvira, is horrified when her father leaves home after a quarrel, bound for an Elvis impersonation competition in Las Vegas even though Elvira's pregnant mother, Mel, wanted him to stay home. Elvira worries that he won't come back, but her concerns shift when, prompted by a dire phone call, Mel packs up Elvira and her younger sister, Kerrie, and drives everyone off to visit her long-estranged mother in Memphis. (Opening the door at six in the morning to a pregnant Mel arriving unannounced with the granddaughters she's never met, Mel's mother greets them flatly with, "He's left you.") Elvira, getting to know "the grandmother" (as Elvira thinks of her) and Mel's sister, Clare ("pronounced Clare-ree ," advises Elvira, "same accent on both syllables"), has ample opportunity to reflect on families, her own attitudes about being an older sister and daughter, and the origins of family rifts. Tart characterizations, lively dialogue and Elvira's frank narration keep this perceptive novel both credible and buoyant. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Children's Literature -
Elvira is trying to keep an open mind about her family. Her father rushes off to an Elvis impersonator contest in Las Vegas, and she is not sure he will return. Her pregnant mother Mel has no doubt he will, while Kerrie, Elvira's little sister, wonders if they will be like normal kids, that is, kids with divorced parents. As Elvira tries to deal with her mother's hormones and demands, an aunt she has never met leaves a cryptic phone message summoning Mel and her daughters back to Mel's childhood home. While meeting her grandmother and aunt for the first time, Elvira realizes that she does not have the quintessential family, but one that is very much her own. The book is fast paced, and involves the reader's emotions, so that he or she is just as stressed out as the characters in the story. There is definitely a family resemblance between the characters that further pushes the point of family togetherness even in uncertain times. Reviewer: Renee FarrahSchool Library Journal
Gr 5-8- Elvira is a feisty, stubborn 13-year-old living in New Hope, NC. She has a younger sister, Kerrie, who drives her crazy. Elvira and her mother, Mel, often bicker like two schoolgirls, and her father, Tony, is an Elvis impersonator. When Mel discovers she is pregnant, she and Tony fight about an important Elvis contest in Las Vegas, and he leaves with his blue suede shoes, tight white jeans, and Brylcreem. Mel receives a phone message from her estranged sister, Clare, which prompts her to pack up the 1957 DeSoto Fireflite (with license plate reading "ELVIS LVS") and take the girls on a road trip "home" to Memphis. The journey, of course, results in Elvira meeting family she never knew. She gains a new appreciation for her mother, discovers traits that she and her grandmother share, and finds the home she has been craving. Tony also comes to Memphis with the realization that his family is more important than an Elvis competition. Strong character development, snappy dialogue, and humorous situations carry this novel. While the central plot is ultimately predictable and not particularly fresh, readers will enjoy Elvira's voice and the humor, and just might want to find out more about Elvis Presley.-Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD