How fitting that I review this title on the 33rd anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.
Yet another Caudill Nominee from 1996, this book has been sitting on my shelf for months. There is always something better to grab. I think the cover dates it older than the 90s. The setting is the 60s and so maybe that is it.
Wanda lives in a large beautiful house with her mother and father. Wanda’s mother supplements her husband’s income by taking in boarders much to Wanda’s chagrin. But it is necessary, because Wanda’s father is known for drinking away the family’s money. It wouldn’t be so bad if Wanda’s own room wasn’t rented out. She has a lovely room in the attic where the most recent occupant was a spiteful Aunt.
The book starts with Wanda cleaning her attic room and changing her bed sheets for a new boarder, Mercedes Washington. The newcomer is a jazz singer with an ongoing gig in a nearby town. She is young, talented, glamorous, generous, and most of all – sparkling! She has plenty of her own costumes and costume jewelry. Mercedes enjoys sharing the sparkle. Wanda is thrilled to be on the receiving end. Even more exciting to Wanda than a life on stage is the fact that Mercedes attended Hume High School with Elvis Presley for two whole months. Wanda is convinced that Mercedes and Elvis have remained friends.
She needs this bit of fantasy in her life. Her mother believes her to be grown up enough to help around the house. And her mother uses her to keep an eye on her own father. Wanda has not missed this fact and she is ashamed to be her father’s keeper. When the going gets tough, Wanda retreats to her makeshift bedroom. A little screened in sunroom attached to her parents’ bedroom. It is like sleeping in a goldfish bowl. There is only a curtain on the glass door for privacy.
In this small sanctuary, Wanda can listen to her records, those small 45s, of Elvis and gaze at his poster, her dearest treasure. Sometimes she even pretends to dance with him. Momentarily she can escape to a place where her father not only promises to quit drinking, but carries his promise through.
Remember that spiteful Aunt? She may no longer live in the attic, but she still has a room in the house. She keeps her nose in everyone’s business and is sure to share it with passers-by. She happens to know Mercedes secret and reveals it to Wanda with vicious words. Part of the book is about Wanda coming to terms with whether or not Mercedes lied to her by withholding information.
Another portion of the book deals with Wanda’s father slowly earning the trust of his family again.
My favorite part of the book is Wanda’s father’s attempt to marry off the spiteful Aunt, his sister, to get her out of his house. What a family won’t do to keep the peace!
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