
Written by Ann M. Martin
When her mother leaves to chase fame, an eleven-year-old must hold her family together.
In 1963, eleven-year-old Ellie Dingman lives in small-town Spectacle, New York, with an off-center family. Her mother dreams only of becoming a rich and famous actress, and when that dream takes her away from home, Ellie has to take charge of her younger siblings as she starts sixth grade in a year of upheaval.
In 1963, Ellie’s mother, Doris Day Dingman, was crowned the Bosetti Beauty at Mr. Bosetti’s supermarket, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the Dingmans began to fall apart. So begins 11-yr-old Eleanor Roosevelt Dingman’s story. Ellie, who is about to start 6th grade in the small town of Spectacle, NY, is the oldest child in her off-center family. Her father works construction jobs, while her mother, Doris, has only one dream - to become a rich and famous actress. But when that dream leads to Doris’s abandonment of the family, it is Ellie who is called upon to take charge.
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