Here Today

It's 1963 and eleven-year-old Ellie is surrounded by change, battles and a whole raft of issues that lead to growing up fast. For starters Ellie's mother has renamed herself Doris Day Dingman and is hoping to win the local beauty contest. It's her hope that making a name for herself in the produce aisle will only be the beginning of her road to stardom and celebrity. Ellie wants to run and hide as she watches her mother make a fool of herself in public. Meanwhile, at school, Ellie and her best friend are fighting off bullies and watching the rage that is being directed to their neighbors in their little corner of the universe. The straw that breaks the camels back is the assassination of President Kennedy. With a realization that life can be short, Doris Day Dingman leaves home with stars and desperation in her eyes. She does not want to be a mother. She wants to be somebody and she's heading to the big city to find applause. This leaves Ellie yearning for the mother she does not have and realizing how sometimes in life you look for the good in what you do have and you accept what walks out the door. Ages 9-12 320 pages