... by Frances Maynard. Published in 2017 by Sourcebooks, Landmark. Picked at random from the shelf at my branch library. I kept thinking as I read that it must be one of those Young Adult volumes I picked up by accident, but nothing on the spine proved that to be true.
It was never specifically stated in the wording, but after reading well into the story, I concluded the main character, Elvira, must have some learning disability. At the end of the book, in a short blurb about the author on the last page, there was mention the author is a part time teacher of adults with Aspergers or other disorders.The story as it unfolds, does not mention this, but the habits and thoughts of Ellie demonstrate a different perspective, a skewed way of interpreting daily conversations, information, her life in general. Leading the reader to realize she struggles to process everything with a brain that is wired a bit different from the general population.
Ellie lives in a small house with her mother, as her dad was deceased. Ellie's mom is a bitter, argumentative, disagreeable person, who constantly criticizes and demeans her daughter. Knowing that the young adult has problems with language, understanding meanings of conversation, taking every word literally. Reminding me of the children's books written about a nanny: Amelia Bedelia, who would interpret every thing she heard in the literal sense, making for hilarious tales in literature. But trying to function in society with that handicap would be maddening as well as confusing.
Ellie's mom has a stroke, is placed in a care facility, leaving Ellie to fend for herself. With the assistance of a neighbor, new friends she begins to discover she can handle her life and becomes capable and independent. Her mom dies, leaving a trust fund that will provide support, and allow Ellie to continue to live in her comfortable home, surrounded by family furniture and history.
She soon discovers she has a heretofore unknown half-brother, a product of her father's philandering ways. She begins to email, then call, then meet this young man, several years younger than herself. The way she literally interprets all conversations and language are often amusing to read, but would understandably be very difficult for someone who is struggling to fit in, find her place in the world.
Her new-found brother works with her to piece together what they can discover of their dad's roaming, his other family and how he was deceitful, scheming and a hopeless liar. The dad served time for several crimes the two siblings discovered as they researched his history - even the name they knew him by was fictitious.
Here are Elvira's rules, often referred to in the book. They were made up by her, and used as a prompt throughout the story to help guide her as she faced unexpected, difficult or confusing situations:
1. Being polite and respectful is always good.
2. If you look or sound different, you won't fit in.
3. Conversation doesn't just exchange facts - it conveys how you're feeling.
4. You learn by making mistakes.
5. Not everyone who is nice to me is my friend.
6. It's better to be too diplomatic than too honest.
7. Rules change depending on the situation and the person you are speaking to.
And the one she added as she gradually became an independent capable adult discovering she could manage life on her own. Which is Rule 8: Use the rules to help with difficulties, to make life easier to understand what's acceptable to enhance your strengths, but after that, do things your way.
The list, printed at the end of the book, reminds me of the poster you often see in elementary classrooms with 'guidelines for life' by the author Robert Fulghum. He devised a thoughtful, considered list of all the things we should have been taught as we began our formal education in Kindergarten. Where we learned (and likely forgot when our brains began to accumulate too many other facts unrelated to patience and compassion) a number of basic principles of cooperative living.
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