Ellen Fremedon, Volunteer Book

Blessed — or cursed, depending on her mood — with an active mind, incessant curiosity, and uncontrollable nosiness, Ellen Fremedon is not looking forward to another summer. Her best friend, Jenny, is going away to art school, and none of their usual projects seem like much fun anymore. Plus, Ellen, now 13 years old, has developed a bit of an attitude, and she isn’t thrilled at being left behind with the boring folks in Partridge Cove. The possibilities are far from enticing: Spend time with her obnoxious little twin brothers? Read to brats in the summer reading program at the library? Take on more chores at home now that their housekeeper has left and multiple sclerosis confines Mrs. Fremedon to a wheelchair? To add insult to injury, Ellen is corralled into visiting a bunch of seniors at Peacehaven, the local retirement home, where she meets her match in Mr. Martin — a blind, rude, old man who is even crankier than Ellen. Can it get any worse? In this lively novel, award-winning author Joan Givner explores serious issues — including family dysfunction, single parenthood, and disability — through humor, surprise, and one of the most appealing main characters in contemporary young adult fiction.

Children's Literature

Canadian readers may be familiar with Vancouver author Givener's two previous books in which Ellen, who lives in the small village of Partridge Cove, writes a novel about protecting the local water supply and publishes a summer newspaper. In this continuation, Ellen, at loose ends when her best friend Jenny, goes away for the summer, and meets Dimsie from Toronto, who's staying reluctantly in town with her reclusive grandmother. Bored to tears, Ellen is drawn into volunteering at the nearby home for the elderly, while she and Dimsie attempt to solve a mystery involving Dimsie's missing mother. Why are most of Grandmother's doors kept locked? Why is Dimsie not allowed to practice the piano? To whom did the lovely clothes and jewelry hidden in a closet belong? When Ellen discovers the provincial government is going to close the Peacehaven home for the elderly, she finds another task that seems urgent—trying to save the old people's home for its residents. These strands eventually flow into one, as Ellen learns about adapting to change, about the unpredictability of the human heart, and how happiness can arise from unexpected sources. The story, which begins so simply, even boringly, becomes more complex as it develops—so do the characters and Ellen's understanding of them and of herself. Over the summer, Ellen has heard many stories from many different people; now she wants to write her own. Though this Canadian novel unfolds without violence or frantic unmotivated action, attentive readers may find its sanity and perceptive humor very satisfying instead.