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Love Me Tender
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.
From the Hardcover edition.
From the Hardcover edition.
224 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2008
1 person is currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Audrey Couloumbis
22 books74 followersAudrey is a recently transplanted (yet again) New Yorker (by choice), now in Bunker Hill, West Virginia (also by choice), where Civil War ghosts scare the dogs at night, where a CSX train track runs behind the house and the romantic sound of a faraway train can be heard three or four times a day, where she is starting a new garden of rambling roses and assorted deer-resistant flowering shrubs and renovating an old house.
Leisure time, what little there is of it, is spent watching how-to acrylic painting videos on youtube and occasionally getting out the paints to play.
New books are on the way: If Wishes Were Princes, Life and Death at the Warwick Arms, and Anthony Was Here. Stay tuned.
Leisure time, what little there is of it, is spent watching how-to acrylic painting videos on youtube and occasionally getting out the paints to play.
New books are on the way: If Wishes Were Princes, Life and Death at the Warwick Arms, and Anthony Was Here. Stay tuned.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 23, 2008
Like "The Postcard" by Tony Abbott, which I also just read, this book went down smoothly enough--it had just enough well-rendered details, and a good group of believable, dynamic characters, and a strong enough sense of place, and was pitched perfectly to the 12-year-olds it was written for. But I was pretty bored reading it, and that made me realize something.
I often protest that children's and YA fiction can be just as good as the best stuff for adults. I don't want to retract that opinion but maybe I should amend it--good writing is good writing is good writing. But only great writing transcends intended categories and audiences. Also, I find it hard to widely recommend realistic fiction for tweens n' teens...I guess tween lives just aren't that fascinating to me anymore, unless there's some sort of, well, gimmick. Like they're actually in heaven or living in 17-th century Mongolia, or have Asperger's, or save lions from a sadistic, futuristic circus.
I often protest that children's and YA fiction can be just as good as the best stuff for adults. I don't want to retract that opinion but maybe I should amend it--good writing is good writing is good writing. But only great writing transcends intended categories and audiences. Also, I find it hard to widely recommend realistic fiction for tweens n' teens...I guess tween lives just aren't that fascinating to me anymore, unless there's some sort of, well, gimmick. Like they're actually in heaven or living in 17-th century Mongolia, or have Asperger's, or save lions from a sadistic, futuristic circus.
July 15, 2008
It should be 3.5 stars but I still haven't figured out how to give to do half stars.
When a very pregnant Mel hears that her mother may be dying, she packs up her 13 year old daughter Elvira and 8 year old daughter Kerrie and heads to Memphis to be with the family. Mel and her husband Tony, an Elvis impersonator, have had a fight just a few days earlier so he is in Las Vegas with no idea that his girls are headed to a reunion which may be anything but happy.
While it was an entertaining read, I feel that it fell short of living up to the jacket blurb. I'm not really sure what the conflict was, how it was resolved or how the characters grew. But I am glad that I read it and would still recommend it if you want a fast, entertaining read.
When a very pregnant Mel hears that her mother may be dying, she packs up her 13 year old daughter Elvira and 8 year old daughter Kerrie and heads to Memphis to be with the family. Mel and her husband Tony, an Elvis impersonator, have had a fight just a few days earlier so he is in Las Vegas with no idea that his girls are headed to a reunion which may be anything but happy.
While it was an entertaining read, I feel that it fell short of living up to the jacket blurb. I'm not really sure what the conflict was, how it was resolved or how the characters grew. But I am glad that I read it and would still recommend it if you want a fast, entertaining read.
August 11, 2008
Couloumbis, Audrey. 2008. Love Me Tender.
"Early Friday afternoon, Daddy left mad.
He carried his guitar. The weather had turned so hot, the sweaty circles on his T-shirt looked like the wings of an insect against his back.
I followed him, dragging his duffel and panting, "Daddy, this thing is too heavy. What all are you carrying in here?"
What, besides his blue suede shoes and tight white jeans, did he need?"
The narrator of Love Me Tender is thirteen-year-old Elvira. The oldest of what will soon be three children. She's got an eight year old sister, Kerrie, and another sibling on the way. Her mom, whom she calls Mel because that's what her Daddy calls her, is seven months pregnant and very, very cranky. Elvira is worried that it's only going to get worse from here on out--first the hormones of pregnancy, later the diapers and crying and babysitting.
The family is in the beginning stages of crisis. Her dad is unhappy with his job, her mom is unhappy and moody with this unplanned pregnancy, and her younger sister has reverted to acting like a three year old. When we first meet the family, it doesn't look good. The parents have just had a big fight. Her dad is on his way to Vegas. On his way to compete in an Elvis impersonator competition. Her mom is glued to the recliner and hooked to cheesy TV movies. And her sister is driving her crazy.
And then the phone call comes.
It's a strange call. Almost cryptic. Mel's sister, Clare, says simply that their mother's time has come. Thinking that she only has hours--maybe a day or two--to make amends with her estranged family, Mel quickly packs up her two kids, borrows her husband's most prized possession--a classic car in great condition--and heads to Memphis, Tennessee. Taking turns behind the wheel, Mel and Elvira make it to her grandmother's house--just barely with all their nerves and spirits intact. (After a bit of a scare with Kerrie and some "toy" eyelashes.)
This will be the children's first time to meet their grandmother, and to meet their mother's younger sister, Clare. That family--much like Elvira's--seems to be in crisis as well. Clare is convinced that her mother--their mother--needs to be put in a nursing home.
During this weekend, lives will changes, fences will be mended, there will be laughter and tears as well.
Family drama galore is what you'll find in Love Me Tender.
Recommended.
"Early Friday afternoon, Daddy left mad.
He carried his guitar. The weather had turned so hot, the sweaty circles on his T-shirt looked like the wings of an insect against his back.
I followed him, dragging his duffel and panting, "Daddy, this thing is too heavy. What all are you carrying in here?"
What, besides his blue suede shoes and tight white jeans, did he need?"
The narrator of Love Me Tender is thirteen-year-old Elvira. The oldest of what will soon be three children. She's got an eight year old sister, Kerrie, and another sibling on the way. Her mom, whom she calls Mel because that's what her Daddy calls her, is seven months pregnant and very, very cranky. Elvira is worried that it's only going to get worse from here on out--first the hormones of pregnancy, later the diapers and crying and babysitting.
The family is in the beginning stages of crisis. Her dad is unhappy with his job, her mom is unhappy and moody with this unplanned pregnancy, and her younger sister has reverted to acting like a three year old. When we first meet the family, it doesn't look good. The parents have just had a big fight. Her dad is on his way to Vegas. On his way to compete in an Elvis impersonator competition. Her mom is glued to the recliner and hooked to cheesy TV movies. And her sister is driving her crazy.
And then the phone call comes.
It's a strange call. Almost cryptic. Mel's sister, Clare, says simply that their mother's time has come. Thinking that she only has hours--maybe a day or two--to make amends with her estranged family, Mel quickly packs up her two kids, borrows her husband's most prized possession--a classic car in great condition--and heads to Memphis, Tennessee. Taking turns behind the wheel, Mel and Elvira make it to her grandmother's house--just barely with all their nerves and spirits intact. (After a bit of a scare with Kerrie and some "toy" eyelashes.)
This will be the children's first time to meet their grandmother, and to meet their mother's younger sister, Clare. That family--much like Elvira's--seems to be in crisis as well. Clare is convinced that her mother--their mother--needs to be put in a nursing home.
During this weekend, lives will changes, fences will be mended, there will be laughter and tears as well.
Family drama galore is what you'll find in Love Me Tender.
Recommended.
March 12, 2013
This book is a very emotional book. It was very heart felt, and I could definetly relate. The main character of the book is named Elvira. She is a fourteen year old girl who is living the life of an adult. Her parents are having problems. Her dad does not like his job and wants to be just like Elvis. Wierd right? Well her mother does not completely agree, but wants her husband to be happy. She just needs to be able to support her family. One day her father gets up and leaves for California to participate in an Elvis impersonation contest. Her mom is heart broke, and needs to know that he still loves her. Elvira believes that her mother is over reacting, and she knows that she will still be the back bone of the family. She does everything for her little sister, and helps her family so much. But she wants to live the life of a normal teenager, and she wants to enjoy her childhood.
That night her mother gets a call from her sister, who she hasn't seen in forever. She leaves a voicemail saying that it's their mother's time, she is not well. That same night Elvira's family gets up and goes to Tennessee to visit their grandmother. Elvira's mother was nervous, she hadn't seen her mother in forever. It turned out her grandmother was fine. Elvira's aunt was worried about her safety. She had caught the house on fire multiple times. Towards the end, Elvira doesn't want to leave, but neither does her mother. They don't know what to do, until Elvira's dad shows up and gives them the surprise of their lives.
That night her mother gets a call from her sister, who she hasn't seen in forever. She leaves a voicemail saying that it's their mother's time, she is not well. That same night Elvira's family gets up and goes to Tennessee to visit their grandmother. Elvira's mother was nervous, she hadn't seen her mother in forever. It turned out her grandmother was fine. Elvira's aunt was worried about her safety. She had caught the house on fire multiple times. Towards the end, Elvira doesn't want to leave, but neither does her mother. They don't know what to do, until Elvira's dad shows up and gives them the surprise of their lives.
May 14, 2008
Elvira's father has left to pursue his dream of being one of the great Elvis impersonators and her mother, Mel, has just received word that her mother is dying. So off they head to Memphis where Elvira and Kerrie will finally meet their maternal grandmother. But grandma isn't dying and her relationship with Mel is strained and bitter. Mel's sister Clare wants to put her mother in a nursing home, but Mel isn't sure that is necessary. As they spend more time with each other, the varied personalities and ages begin to build a strong and interesting family dynamic.
This picture of a non-typical American family is written with such conviction that each character rings utterly true. From Elvira to her mother to the grandmother and aunt, all generations of this family are different but still come together as a family to the reader before they make sense as a family to themselves. Couloumbis has written a book with female characters who are strong and interesting but also display weaknesses and flaws. Engagingly written, this book fairly sings with characters.
Encourage girls who enjoy character-driven books to pick this one up. Perfect for tween readers because of a teen protagonist combined with absolutely no kissing or sexuality. I promise you, they will not be missed as the dynamic between the generations is worked out on the page. Recommended for ages 10-13.
This picture of a non-typical American family is written with such conviction that each character rings utterly true. From Elvira to her mother to the grandmother and aunt, all generations of this family are different but still come together as a family to the reader before they make sense as a family to themselves. Couloumbis has written a book with female characters who are strong and interesting but also display weaknesses and flaws. Engagingly written, this book fairly sings with characters.
Encourage girls who enjoy character-driven books to pick this one up. Perfect for tween readers because of a teen protagonist combined with absolutely no kissing or sexuality. I promise you, they will not be missed as the dynamic between the generations is worked out on the page. Recommended for ages 10-13.
June 23, 2016
'Don't let things fall apart while I'm gone,' thirteen-year-old Elvira's dad says as he takes off for Las Vegas to compete in an Elvis Impersonator competition.
Elvira is not thrilled with the responsibility. Mel, her mother is so pregnant she only gets up from her chair in front of the TV to go to the bathroom. Her eight-year-old sister Kerrie shifts from her grown-up voice to her baby voice, whichever one will let her have her way. And now her dad has morphed into Elvis and left, and she's not sure he's coming back.
After a day of sniping with her mother and listening to her sister whine, Elvira finds a phone message alerting Mel that her estranged mother's day may have come. Soon they're off to Memphis in Elvira's dad's vintage DeSoto Fireflite.
Elvira and Kerrie have never met their grandmother or their Aunt Clare. Since her grandmother sends a box of lifesavers each Christmas, with not even a note, Elvira isn't sure she wants to meet her.
Couloumbis paints a truthful story of a family reunion of three generations of women who need to sort out the past and forget long held grudges, to find the forgiveness and love that is still hidden in their hearts.
Elvira is not thrilled with the responsibility. Mel, her mother is so pregnant she only gets up from her chair in front of the TV to go to the bathroom. Her eight-year-old sister Kerrie shifts from her grown-up voice to her baby voice, whichever one will let her have her way. And now her dad has morphed into Elvis and left, and she's not sure he's coming back.
After a day of sniping with her mother and listening to her sister whine, Elvira finds a phone message alerting Mel that her estranged mother's day may have come. Soon they're off to Memphis in Elvira's dad's vintage DeSoto Fireflite.
Elvira and Kerrie have never met their grandmother or their Aunt Clare. Since her grandmother sends a box of lifesavers each Christmas, with not even a note, Elvira isn't sure she wants to meet her.
Couloumbis paints a truthful story of a family reunion of three generations of women who need to sort out the past and forget long held grudges, to find the forgiveness and love that is still hidden in their hearts.
January 4, 2009
Audience: ages 10-14
Recommend to: fans of Catherine Murdock and Sharon Creech
1. Love in families doesn't always look like what you expect it to, especially when you have three generations of stubborn women. Elvira's mother, Mel hasn't talked to her own family in years. In fact, 13-yr-old Elvira has never even met them. After their father heads to Las Vegas to enter an Elvis impersonator contest, Mel receives word that her mother is dying and she packs up the girls and heads home. As Mel works through her relationship with her sister and mother, so does Elvira. She is wise, leads a life of self-awareness and will be just fine.
2. This is a gentle glimpse at those situations in life --namely family relationships-- that are not easy. I say gentle because there's no violence, there's no offensive language -- just authentic questions that teenagers begin to ask themselves, honest conversations between Mel and her mother, and a ... nice resolution to the conflicts that arise during the story.
3. I wish there was more actual Elvis, not just Elvis impersonators.
Recommend to: fans of Catherine Murdock and Sharon Creech
1. Love in families doesn't always look like what you expect it to, especially when you have three generations of stubborn women. Elvira's mother, Mel hasn't talked to her own family in years. In fact, 13-yr-old Elvira has never even met them. After their father heads to Las Vegas to enter an Elvis impersonator contest, Mel receives word that her mother is dying and she packs up the girls and heads home. As Mel works through her relationship with her sister and mother, so does Elvira. She is wise, leads a life of self-awareness and will be just fine.
2. This is a gentle glimpse at those situations in life --namely family relationships-- that are not easy. I say gentle because there's no violence, there's no offensive language -- just authentic questions that teenagers begin to ask themselves, honest conversations between Mel and her mother, and a ... nice resolution to the conflicts that arise during the story.
3. I wish there was more actual Elvis, not just Elvis impersonators.
June 28, 2009
This YA novel was not bad, but suffered from having great unmet potential. 12 year old Elvira, her mother, and her little sister take an impromptu trip to Memphis to visit a grandmother she has never met after her father, a former Elvis impersonator, has a mid-life crisis and takes off for Vegas. On the plus side, the characters are great and believable (and you believe they are a family, and the author as a good ear for dialogue. On the negative, the ending felt tacked on and yet managed to touch upon some very interesting themes that hadn't been addressed at all in the rest of the book. If the events of the plot had been leading up to the resolutions laid out at the end, this would have been a fantastic book. I felt like there were some neat ideas here, but that the author had trouble weaving them together.
Grade: B-
Recommended: Meh, it's fine. I think the 10, 11, and 12 year old set would enjoy this while reading, and then quickly forget about it.
(2009/13)
Grade: B-
Recommended: Meh, it's fine. I think the 10, 11, and 12 year old set would enjoy this while reading, and then quickly forget about it.
(2009/13)
November 16, 2008
this book is a amazing book.
when 13 year old elvira's mom, mel gets pregnant, her dad leaves the family to go enter a elvis impersinators contest. meanwhile, the family gets a strange message on the answering machine. it says "mother's time is coming" with out a hello or a goodbye. they decide to drive to nashville, where mel's mother lives. on the way, they encounter some things that aren't too great. elvira's little sister, kerrie gets some fake eyelashes stuck on her eyelashes, and they have to go to the emergency room to get them taken off. when they get to mel's mother's house, the family meets mel's sister, claire. elvira and kerrie have never met either mel's sister or her mother, so this came to a bit of shock to them.
this book will have you laughing untill your sides split and crying on the ground, sort of.
when 13 year old elvira's mom, mel gets pregnant, her dad leaves the family to go enter a elvis impersinators contest. meanwhile, the family gets a strange message on the answering machine. it says "mother's time is coming" with out a hello or a goodbye. they decide to drive to nashville, where mel's mother lives. on the way, they encounter some things that aren't too great. elvira's little sister, kerrie gets some fake eyelashes stuck on her eyelashes, and they have to go to the emergency room to get them taken off. when they get to mel's mother's house, the family meets mel's sister, claire. elvira and kerrie have never met either mel's sister or her mother, so this came to a bit of shock to them.
this book will have you laughing untill your sides split and crying on the ground, sort of.
February 22, 2012
13-year old Elvira, along with her mother and little sister, goes on a journey to visit her mother's estranged family in Memphis after her father leaves for Vegas to compete in an Elvis impersonator competition. Elvira goes through a life changing experience meeting family she's never before met and accepting her changing world right beneath her.
I picked this book because the back cover described this book in an interesting way that made me want to try it out.
I finished this book because I wanted to see if Elvira would come through and realize that love doesn't always look like it does in movies, and sometimes you have to look harder to find it.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading teen fiction and also who like reading about love/relationships.
I picked this book because the back cover described this book in an interesting way that made me want to try it out.
I finished this book because I wanted to see if Elvira would come through and realize that love doesn't always look like it does in movies, and sometimes you have to look harder to find it.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading teen fiction and also who like reading about love/relationships.
June 7, 2008
Teen Elvira is left to take care of her pregnant mom and younger sister when her dad, an Elvis impersonator, takes off (after a fight with mom) to win a big competition in Las Vegas. When a cryptic message is left on the home machine that hints at a grandma's sickness, the girls hop in the truck and take off for Memphis, TN. The next couple of days are spent getting acquainted with a grandma they girls never met and dealing with the undefined absence of their father. It ends plausibly, with revealing, realistic moments about both sister-sister and mother-daughter relationships. I have liked other ones by this author more, but I loved the sarcastic dialogue between mother and daughter.
September 22, 2008
The premise is that Elvira is thirteen years old. Her mother is pregnant and her father, an Elvis impersonator, has flown the coop to an Elvis competition in Vegas. Then the call comes that Mel's (that would be Elvira's mother) mother is about to die. So Mel, Elvira and little sister Kerrie hop in the car and drive to Memphis to see the mother Mel no longer has a relationship with and the grandmother the girls have never met.
Eh. I didn't really like it all that much. I mainly felt like I was plugging along trying to get through. I wanted to like it, but for some reason I could never really connect to it. I liked the family sarcasm, but other than that it really was just okay.
Eh. I didn't really like it all that much. I mainly felt like I was plugging along trying to get through. I wanted to like it, but for some reason I could never really connect to it. I liked the family sarcasm, but other than that it really was just okay.
September 23, 2013
Elvira's dad leaves her little sister and pregnant mother to join an Elvis impersonator show. The mother's distraught over this takes a toll on Elvira. Why is mother always so harsh? Leaving to visit Grandma, a women Elvira has never meet, looks like the only thing that can save this family.
The book was a pleasant read. Often somber, with lots of sibling rivalry. Sadly, I expected more of a family crisis, and found things a bit too easily resolved. It is my belief that time deepens the wounds, not fixes them.
The book was a pleasant read. Often somber, with lots of sibling rivalry. Sadly, I expected more of a family crisis, and found things a bit too easily resolved. It is my belief that time deepens the wounds, not fixes them.
June 13, 2008
I liked, but did not love, this book. I enjoyed it more the further I got into it. It took me some time to get used to the way the characters in the family related to one another-- for awhile I just had to trust that the love really was there between all of them-- but there are some positive messages to be gained, and some funny passages as well.
October 31, 2008
Possible Mock Newbery choice. Story about a family with a father that is an Elvis impersonator who leaves the family for a contest in Las Vegas and then the two sisters and there pregnant mother get an emergency call to go to Memphis where the girls meet their sometimes forgetful grandmother and eccentric aunt.
July 3, 2009
Elvira is the daughter of an Elvis impersonator/gardener and a free spirited mom she calls Mel. The story starts as her dad leaves for a competition after a fight with Mel who is expecting another child. Then a phone calls leads Mel to take her two daughters to her own home where they meet her mother and sister. I really like the relationships between the sisters and the dialog.
November 2, 2009
Elvira worryies about her family. Her father left after her parents had a fight. Her mom, who is pregnant, takes her and her younger sister to visit their grandma. Usually visiting your grandma is a good thing, but Elvira has never met her grandma because her mother had stopped talking to her.
June 18, 2011
Elvira's mom hasn't spoken to or of her family for years. But when her father leaves after a fight and Mel (Elvira's mom) gets a call saying her mother is at death's door, the family packs up and sets off to meet that part of the family. Once there Elvira, still longing for her father, finds that family isn't always what you dreamed, but sometimes it's better than you hoped.
April 29, 2008
Elvira's dad, an Elvis impersonator, heads to Vegas to hit the big time, leaving Elvira (13), her 8-year-old sister and her embarrassingly pregnant mother behind. The girls head to Memphis to see "the grandmother" (as Elvira calls her). Elvira's voice keeps this one going. 4.5 stars.
April 27, 2008
Great cover!
May 12, 2008
This is a really cute story! What would you do if your dad was an Elvis impersonator who took off for Vegas and your mom took you on a long roadtrip to see your long-lost grandmother?
June 5, 2008
Turns out I'm not the only writer who thought a teenaged girl with an Elvis-impersonating father would be funny. Rats.
August 9, 2008
Well-developed characters and a distinct voice/POV distinguished this book for me.
July 1, 2010
It was a good book!
December 5, 2010
really sweet!(I love Elvis)
November 11, 2011
Personally, I found the writing and the characters to be well done, but not much of a thrust to the story. Great for kids that stories about real-life, though.
September 2, 2016
Kind of boring
April 6, 2012
Nice story about a tween learning to deal with her expanding family -- adding a new baby & a grandma she'd never met. Oh, & how to deal with an elvis impersonating dad. Great middle grade read.
November 3, 2012
Heartwarming coming of age story.
August 22, 2013
This is an AWESOME book so far. It is really good. I recommend it to anyone who LOVES family drama!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews