All Shook Up by Shelley Pearsall

All Shook Up by Shelley Pearsall

Cover Courtesy of Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis:WHEN 13-YEAR-OLD JOSH finds out he has to stay with his dad in Chicago for a few months, he’s not too thrilled. But when he arrives at the airport, he’s simply devastated. His father—who used to be a scatterbrained, but pretty normal, shoe salesman—has become a sideburn-wearing, hip-twisting, utterly embarrassing Elvis impersonator. Josh is determined to keep his dad’s identity a secret, but on his very first day at his new school, a note appears on his locker. It’s signed Elvisly Yours, and instead of a name, a sneering purple smiley face. The secret is out, and when his dad is invited to perform at a special 50s concert at his school, Josh is forced to take drastic action. From award-winning author Shelley Pearsall comes a hilarious novel about a father and son discovering something about being who you are—and who you’re not.

My Review: I picked up this book because the synopsis seemed unusual, but intriguing. How many books do you read about someone's dad trying to impersonate Elvis? It's the reason why I enjoyed this book a lot.

On the character side, Josh is just a normal boy, who worries a lot about fitting in. He's funny and sarcastic, which makes his point of view very interesting. His dad is also really nice, but their relationship starts off rocky. Josh, understandably, isn't very cool with his dad's new job doing gigs, but the tension is resolved after the book's peak. (However, I don't really agree with the "drastic action" Josh takes in the middle of the book, because it's pretty selfish of him to not look out for his dad's feelings.) The other characters like Ivory and Viv were nice, too, and I like how Ivory doesn't care what anyone thinks of her and holds her friends in high respect. She doesn't let Josh boss her around.

The story is fun and interesting, and progresses at a nice pace. It's really about letting others find themselves, and not worrying so much about what someone thinks of you. I give it 4 stars. The author has a nice way with words!