And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine

by Stella Pevsner

Andrea feels her parents unfairly focus most of their attention on her trouble-making older sister.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens

182 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 1978

About the author

Stella Pevsner, who is the author of eighteen books for children from 8 to 13 years, was voted Illinois Children's Book Author of the Year 1987. Among her awards are The Golden Kite; the Carl Sandburg, the Society of Midland Authors, Arkansas State, Virginia State, and the Dorothy Canfield Fisher.

After a career in advertising and freelance writing, she turned to children's books at the request of a young son who said his favorite author "didn't write fast enough." She wrote a book to fulfill her role as "the invincible parent" and enjoyed it so much that after the book-by-request (Break a Leg!) was published she kept on writing.

Early favorites among her books are The Night the Whole Class Slept Over; Me, My Goat and My Sister's Wedding; A Smart Kid Like You; Cute is a 4-Letter Word; Sister of the Quints; I'm Emma: I'm a Quint. One of her prize-winning novels, And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine describes how a girl survives life with an out-of-bounds teenage sister and then a greater family tragedy. Teen suicide and its after-effects on the family is the subject of another awards book, How Could You Do It, Diane?

Her experiences tutoring at Literacy Chicago led to a book which depicted the life of her Chinese student, an outcast in north Viet Nam during the war. The young girl, along with other children, hid in the jungle during air raids, and finally, was forced to flee with her family. The book, called Sing for Your Father, Su Phan, is treasured by the former student, now a Chicago salon owner, as a record of more difficult times. A continued association with the Chinese family inspired Stella Pevsner to write a book about the friendship between an Asian and Caucasian girl, titled, Would My Fortune Cookie Lie?

Jon, Flora, and the Odd-Eyed Cat describes the secret meetings on summer nights between a boy recovering from rheumatic fever and the never-seen-in-daylight girl who owns a mysterious cat. A girl who feels the whole world has gone berserk is the heroine of Is Everyone Moonburned but Me?

"Although some of my books deal with serious situations in the lives of children, my underlying theme is that there is always hope and yes, humor, in day-to-day living," the author says. In her frequent speeches to school children, she urges them to do their best since, in the words of Samuel Boswell, "The future is purchased by the present." She hopes that kids who enjoy her books will be encouraged to go on reading forever.

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh sweet angst how I missed you. Thanks to the used bookstore I found this book once again. I read it when I was a kid & loved it & I still liked it today. It's a bit dramatic with the ending & all but any teenager could relate to the feelings of awkwardness & anger & feeling overshadowed by a prettier & more troublesome sibling. I thought the mom was a bit of a dope & the dad was a background character pretty much, but the relationship between the main character, Andrea, and her brother was pretty sweet. And yes indeed, Elaine WAS a pain.

[Elaine Hoffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Found it in a box of books, i think someone gave it to me when I was working at the middle school as a joke. It did kind of remind me of my sister and I. She was older and was the Elaine but she was not always nice as older sisters are not. The ending was not real good but it had to have a climax but i thought it moved a little slow.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't love the main character, but her brother was amazing.

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nostalgia!

[Kathleen Britton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book from way back when, whose title escaped me. Early '80s YA; not sure if it's exactly an "old friend" but it was worth tracking down to reread, if only to refresh my memory of it.

[Michelle Llewellyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am also one of those reviewers who read this book sometime during my middle school years and forgot all about it until coming across it at the local thrift store. Published in 1978, today's teen readers will probably roll their eyes at the lack of divorce, drug use, teen sex or love triangle for the main character who is only thirteen. She's the youngest in the family and feeling just a little ignored while her parents spend all their time wringing their hands over their rebellious teenage daughter, Elaine, who is sixteen. Oldest brother, Joe, is away at college so he can't be there to mediate when Elaine cuts class, is picked up by the cops for hitchhiking before finally running away from home to meet a boy. Because this is 1978, Elaine never experiences any real consequences for her actions, like getting pregnant or addicted to drugs. She's obviously a very troubled young lady but the real reason for her actions and attitude is never revealed. Mom and Dad don't have a clue what to do with her. It takes a real family crisis before everyone starts communicating.
Meanwhile, our heroine and her best friend try and get more involved in their eighth grade class activities which leads to a boy noticing her and even taking her out on a few dates.
While it is a well written story and the ending wraps up nicely with the main character finding closure and the strength to go on with her life, it's hard to remember sometimes that she's JUST THIRTEEN.

[Heather Ross]

I read this book for the first time when I was 7 or 8 then again at 10. I loved it, it was a book where the main character had the same emotional conflicts and resentments I did. The book was also the first I ever read where someone died and it was dealt with/ discussed.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this wayyyy wayyy back in the day, and I still remember the little song that the jealous younger sister sang about her older sister. A coworker and I were chatting about books from our childhood, and for whatever reason, this one always stuck with me.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorites as a kid, and every once in a while I go back to revisit it. Still makes me cry, but it's a good lesson of love and family.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geez, this is sort of a depressing book. Elaine is bad enough, and I really felt like the ending was sort of a cheap shot. There was enough drama without that.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

a classic of the genre. i don't know how i missed this one when i was reading all the other similar ones in middle school. a classic troubled child story.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

read in grade 6

[Terri]

Man, I had forgotten about this one completely, but the cover takes me back.

[evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorites. The ending was sooooooooo sad though.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wished I had read this year's ago but it was still enjoyable.