It's the summer of 1978 and most people think Elvis Presley has been dead for a year. But not eleven-year-old Truly Bateman — because she knows Elvis is alive and well and living in the Eagle Shores Trailer Park. Maybe no one ever thought to look for him on an indigenous reserve on Vancouver Island.

It's a busy summer for Truly. Though her mother is less of a mother than she ought to be, and spends her time drinking and smoking and working her way through new boyfriends, Truly is determined to raise as much money for herself as she can through her lemonade stand...and to prove that her cool new neighbour is the one and only King of Rock 'n' Roll.

And when she can't find motherly support in her own home, she finds sanctuary with Andy El, the Salish woman who runs the trailer park. (From Cormorant Books)

Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer was a finalist for the 2022 Silver Birch Fiction Award, which celebrates fiction books for readers in Grades 3-6.

Leslie Gentile is an author and singer-songwriter of Northern Salish, Tuscarora and Scottish heritage. Based on Vancouver Island, she performs with her children in The Leslie Gentile Band. Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer is her debut book.