Love Me Tender    by Audrey Couloumbis Order:  USA  Can Random House, 2008 (2008) Hardcover      Reviewed by Lyn Seippel 'Don't let things fall apart while I'm gone,' thirteen-year-old Elvira's dad says as he takes off for Las Vegas to compete in an Elvis Impersonator competition. Elvira is not thrilled with the responsibility. Mel, her mother is so pregnant she only gets up from her chair in front of the TV to go to the bathroom. Her eight-year-old sister Kerrie shifts from her grown-up voice to her baby voice, whichever one will let her have her way. And now her dad has morphed into Elvis and left, and she's not sure he's coming back. After a day of sniping with her mother and listening to her sister whine, Elvira finds a phone message alerting Mel that her estranged mother's day may have come. Soon they're off to Memphis in Elvira's dad's vintage DeSoto Fireflite. Elvira and Kerrie have never met their grandmother or their Aunt Clare. Since her grandmother sends a box of lifesavers each Christmas, with not even a note, Elvira isn't sure she wants to meet her. Couloumbis paints a truthful story of a family reunion of three generations of women who need to sort out the past and forget long held grudges, to find the forgiveness and love that is still hidden in their hearts. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews