Tuesday, February 24, 2009

All Shook Up


Shelley Pearsall's novel All Shook Up has been on my stack for a while. I just finished it yesterday, enjoying each moment of it.
Josh Greenwood has come to Chicago to live with his father while his mother spends time in Florida helping his grandmother recover from an illness. Starting a new school and finding new friends is hard enough for a junior high student, but when your dad turns out to be an Elvis impersonator things are even worse. Josh's dad had worked at a shoe store for as long as Josh could remember, but when the shoe store went out of business, he is forced to find a different job and is trying to launch his career as the King. Josh is mortified by this turn of events, and even more upset when someone starts leaving notes on his locker signed 'Elvisly yours.' Josh and his father spend a lot of time not quite connecting as they try to get to know each other again. When Josh's dad is scheduled to perform in front of the entire student body at his school, Josh has to take matters into his own hands.
Pearsall includes some Elvis lyrics as the titles to her chapters and a bit about Elvis in her author notes. I do remember watching an Elvis concert on television when I was little but never experienced the Elvis obsession so many people have. While Josh doesn't quite "get" the obsession, either, after watching his father perform he is a bit more impressed with the new career his father has chosen.

1 comment:

Becky said...

This one is a fun book.