Dancing with Elvis

by Lynda Stephenson and Stephenson

Book Overview

With humor and heart, Dancing with Elvis tells of one young woman's coming of age in the South, during a time of change in America's history. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802852939
• ISBN13: 9780802852939
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable but a bit over the top......................

DANCING WITH ELVIS is melodramatic yet entertaining coming of age story set in the Texas Panhandle in the 1950's. Frankilee is a likeable heroine and Angel makes a truly evil villain but the ending is way too over the top and made me lose a little respect for the rest of the book. The book does do a good job of describing what life was like in the 1950's segregated South. It's not strictly a young adult book (this middle aged reader enjoyed it) but seems to have been marketed as such.

Dancing With Elvis

Dancing With Elvis is a very interesting book. It is about a girl who "adopts" a girl from her school who is being abused. At first Frankilee is very exited about the new experience, but after a while, she learns that her new sister is not someone to be thankful for. Angel is mean, rude, and is very good at hiding it. She deceivingly takes Frakilee's role in her family and steals the affection of others. Frankilee despises Angel but is also quite jealous of her. She envies her beauty, her popularity, and her boyfriend. She is disgusted by how much Angel has although she is so mean. She wishes she had blessed with all of these things. The plot of book is somewhat confusing. It took me awhile to understand what was going on. The book was also very historic. It took place in the 1950s and it showed in the book. The author talked about the fashions, the music, the prejudiced thoughts, and much more throughout the book. It taught me a lot about this time period. This book is very interesting and I definitely recommend reading it. In the end, there is quite a shocking surprise, but you'll have to wait and read the book!

She Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog

Frankilee (named Franklin Delano Roosevelt by her eccentric maternal grandfather, who named his 6 daughters after presidents) lives in the Texas Panhandle town of Clover. Bright and eager to move forward in high school the summer of 1956, the girl tries to save a peer who is being abused in her home. Frankilee's mother, a slightly ahead of her time crusader insists Frankilee save the girl, whose mother is known to be the town character and highly abusive. Angel's back and arms have a cross hatch of scars, all testaments to long term abuse. Once they have Angelica (later nicknamed Angel) ensconsed in their home, they contend with the mother beating and kicking the girl; the father making one visit and the townspeople looking the other way as they want no truck with Angel's crazy mother. Angel is like the 1956 cover of "Hound Dog," which Elvis made famous - "they said you was high class, but that was just a lie..." Angel is sneaky and insidious. She gradually takes over the house including one James Colton, whom Frankielee has all but set her cap for. Only Wanita, the wise housekeeper and her family see through Angel; Frankilee's parents appear entranced by her as do the girl's maternal grandparents. Angel flirts outrageously with Frankilee's grandfather; he gives her heirloom jewelry, which upsets his immediate family. Frankilee is determined to uncover Angel's scheme, so she enlists the aid of her friend, Jerry-Fred (called "Jerry-Frank" once in Chapter 6) to join her in some investigative reporting. Jerry-Fred yearns to be Frankilee's boyfriend; she insists that they remain platonic good friends. Angel is like a slithering serpent. She cons Frankilee's parents into paying to have her scars removed; she wheedles a puppy as a gift whom she names Elvis to needle Frankilee, who adores the King of Rock & Roll. I like the way the issues of the late 1950s are addressed; Frankilee and her parents support integration, but the town's small minded bigots strive to maintain separate schools based on race. Wanita and her family are the direct recipients of bigotry; Wanita's oldest son was shot to death. Devastated, Wanita does not return to work for several months until Frankilee persuades her to return. Wanita and her family as well as Frankilee's father and the new coach are delightful characters who fight like soldiers against a single enemy - RACISM. Hats off to Frankilee's father! The cast of characters are interesting and eclectic; a new teacher/coach breathes fresh air into the small-town Clover High School and his landlady, a very weird woman named Mabel Katherine Hightower provide an even wider array of interesting personalities. Mabel Katherine's story is sad, but in a way funny. Her only chance at love came when a traveling man spent a night with her; his pet monkey bit her finger which resulted in a hasty trip to emergency and removal of the finger. The story of the monkey has become part of the town legend, as well as the woman's f

GREAT!!!

This was one of the better books I've read on racism and life in the 1950's. The concrete details grounded in this novel really gave authenticity to this book and made me feel like I was experiencing the conniving Angel incident, the racism, and the other events right along with Frankilee. I, too, enjoyed the way the author employed big events of the 1950's into this story. Anybody who enjoys historical novels, as well as those on racism and with a dose of humor involved, would probably enjoy this book. Sometimes the swearing might seem too much for some people (it didn't bother me at all), but it also adds a nice quirk to the character of Frankilee. The novel spans from the year 1956 to 58 and tells the story of teenaged Frankilee after her parents take in the pathetic Angel Musseldorf. From the start, Frankilee gets bad impressions of the girl - everything from Angel's demanding new clothes and whining to naming her rambunctious dog after Frankilee's lover-boy, Elvis are enough to make a character who is truly fun to hate. I had plenty of fun hating Angel throughout this novel. And then Frankilee finds out the truth about the girl. In short, it's a great read. I finished it off in one night and it wasn't enough. Highly recommended!

She Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog

Frankilee (named Franklin Delano Roosevelt by her eccentric maternal grandfather, who named his 6 daughters after presidents) lives in the Texas Panhandle town of Clover. Bright and eager to move forward in high school the summer of 1956, the girl tries to save a peer who is being abused in her home. Frankilee's mother, a slightly ahead of her time crusader insists Frankilee save the girl, whose mother is known to be the town character and highly abusive. Angel's back and arms have a cross hatch of scars, all testaments to long term abuse. Once they have Angelica (later nicknamed Angel) ensconsed in their home, they contend with the mother beating and kicking the girl; the father making one visit and the townspeople looking the other way as they want no truck with Angel's crazy mother. Angel is like the 1956 cover of "Hound Dog," which Elvis made famous - "they said you was high class, but that was just a lie..." Angel is sneaky and insidious. She gradually takes over the house including one James Colton, whom Frankielee has all but set her cap for. Only Wanita, the wise housekeeper and her family see through Angel; Frankilee's parents appear entranced by her as do the girl's maternal grandparents. Angel flirts outrageously with Frankilee's grandfather; he gives her heirloom jewelry, which upsets his immediate family. Frankilee is determined to uncover Angel's scheme, so she enlists the aid of her friend, Jerry-Fred (called "Jerry-Frank" once in Chapter 6) to join her in some investigative reporting. Jerry-Fred yearns to be Frankilee's boyfriend; she insists that they remain platonic good friends. Angel is like a slithering serpent. She cons Frankilee's parents into paying to have her scars removed; she wheedles a puppy as a gift whom she names Elvis to needle Frankilee, who adores the King of Rock & Roll. I like the way the issues of the late 1950s are addressed; Frankilee and her parents support integration, but the town's small minded bigots strive to maintain separate schools based on race. Wanita and her family are the direct recipients of bigotry; Wanita's oldest son was shot to death. Devastated, Wanita does not return to work for several months until Frankilee persuades her to return. Wanita and her family as well as Frankilee's father and the new coach are delightful characters who fight like soldiers against a single enemy - RACISM. Hats off to Frankilee's father! The cast of characters are interesting and eclectic; a new teacher/coach breathes fresh air into the small-town Clover High School and his landlady, a very weird woman named Mabel Katherine Hightower provide an even wider array of interesting personalities. Mabel Katherine's story is sad, but in a way funny. Her only chance at love came when a traveling man spent a night with her; his pet monkey bit her finger which resulted in a hasty trip to emergency and removal of the finger. The story of the monkey has become part of the town legend, as well as t