Elsie is the author of one of the greatest novels of the previous century. Maya and just about every other schoolchild has read the book. Notably, Elsie never wrote a follow-up but instead faded into obscurity about the novel's publication. Maya wonders why, of course, but Elsie isn't volunteering any answers. Instead, Elsie issues terse instructions for how to dispose of her possessions.
Maya can't help but be curious about the old woman and as she retrieves box after box of mementos and paraphernalia of Elsie's life, inventorying the contents for her boss, she sift through them for clues. Meanwhile, Elsie's grown children, suspicious that there may be an unpublished manuscript hiding upstairs, apply pressure to Maya to set aside anything of significant literary value. And Elsie makes Maya promise to do no such thing.
Filled with a variety of stories, the most compelling sections have to do with the revelations about Elsie than Maya uncovers. There's an effort to portray Maya's own life (and her struggles) as relevant or parallel, but Maya's story simply isn't as interesting. For example, somewhere in all of this is a story about Maya's older brother committing suicide, but it barely captured my attention. The story of Elsie's lost love and the horrid circumstances that led to her death, on the other hand, are burned into my mind. In that context, Maya brings just the right amount of grit and fortitude to make her relationship with the bitter and grumpy Elsie compelling and revealing.
This is a mature book, misclassified as YA simply because of its focus on coming of age, but actually not really focused at all on adolescence. Part gay history and part speculation about real writers (like Harper Lee) who had only one great novel in them.
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