Friday, May 18, 2018: Let’s Play Books Bookstore announces book launch event with Lehigh Valley middle-grade author Paul Acampora.
Confusion is Nothing New, by Paul Acampora (9781338209990) Scholastic Press
Let’s Play Books Bookstore, 244 Main Street, Emmaus, PA 18049
Saturday, June 2, 2018, 2-3 p.m.
A teenage girl learns to cope with the death of a mother that she never met.
Fourteen-year-old Ellie Magari just learned that her mother is dead. Perhaps that would be sad if Ellie had ever met the woman. Exactly who was Ellie’s mom? Does it even matter that she’s gone? Perhaps a dead mom can still help Ellie figure out what it means to be a girl in the world today. Either way, Ellie wouldn’t mind a role model beyond her master chef Dad.
Ellie learns about her estranged mother’s death just moments before playing in the marching band at St. Francis of Assisi’s Friday night football game. By the end of the evening, her confusing feelings lead her to toss her glockenspiel into the air, just missing her music teacher and kicking off a series of strained discussions with her father about why this loss is such a big deal to her anyway. Losing any possibility of ever meeting, knowing, or being loved by her biological mother is hard for Ellie to explain to herself, let alone others. Soon Ellie learns that her mother, Wilma “Korky” Korkenderfer died of leukemia after a career as lead singer of the CYNDI LAUPER’S NOT DEAD! tribute band. While Ellie appears to be white, her friends have varied backgrounds and experiences (one has a congenital limp; another is a Chinese adoptee who identifies as Polish) and help her come to terms with her own past.
Fueled by the bighearted sounds of ’80s rock and roll, plus large doses of Cyndi Lauper’s girl-power joy, Confusion Is Nothing New is about friendship, family mysteries, and the perfect pizza. It’s also about fathers and daughters and girls who understand that it’s good to make things, but breaking things is okay too. In fact, sometimes breaking things is required.
Paul Acampora has written three novels and people have said nice things about each of them. Kids, parents, and critics praise his work for its laugh-out-loud humor, rollicking dialogue, and heartfelt characters. He is the author of Defining Dulcie, which School Library Journal called “an inextricable mix of sadness and humor, sorrow and hope”; and Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face, which Kirkus Reviews described as “an outstanding, humane coming-of-age tale of loss, yearning and forgiveness,” and I Kill the Mockingbird which, according to Booklist, is “[a] well-written, resolutely cheerful offering [which] celebrates books, reading, and life.” You can find Paul online at paulacampora.com.
For more information about the programs or events at Let’s Play Books Bookstore, contact Kirsten Hess at Kirsten@letsplaybooks.com or visit www.letsplaybooks.com.
Information and image provided to TVL by:
Kirsten Hess
Let’s Play Books Bookstore
244 Main St.
Emmaus, PA 18049
610-928-8600
