If you have read The 25 Cent Miracle by Theresa Nelson...?

Question

...can you tell me the difference between Miss Ivy and Elvira? There is some, I know, but I can't figure out everything. How are they different and alike?

Answer 1

"Friendless and dreamy 11-year-old Elvira Trumbull lives with her unemployed, heavy-drinking father in a trailer park. She accepts his lack of outward affection toward her and idolizes the town's children's librarian, Miss Ivy, who shares her interest in growing roses and provides her with the female affection she has missed since her mother died when she was younger. Feeling inadequate and guilty about the kind of life he is providing for Elvira, Mr. Trumbull arranges to send her to her wealthy aunt in Sulphur Springs, six hours away. To avoid this, Elvira attempts to match up divorced Miss Ivy and her father. When her plan fails, Elvira runs away, causing her father to make a new and positive commitment to their life together. Elvira is a splendidly realized character and a tough survivor....Miss Ivy is the wise person we all wish we could be....The complexities of Trumbull's character--his insecurities and doubts about his ability as a parent, causing him to appear cold and unloving--add depth to the story. Sensitive readers will pick up the subtleties and contradictions in his behavior, and understand, long before Elvira, that he really does love her....Readers will appreciate the changes they see in him and rejoice in the positive note on which the novel ends."