Aunt Bertie has been acting strange lately, and the family has decided it’s time to place her in an assisted-living facility. Ellie can’t handle that idea, and decides to move to Colton, Idaho, with her aunt for the summer to prove to her parents that Bertie is just fine. She packs up her things and heads out, in part trying to escape her overbearing mother, and in part, wanting to make things better for Bertie.
When she arrives in Idaho, she is warmly greeted by her lavender-haired aunt, who immediately starts planning Ellie’s wedding to John Flynn. Never mind that Ellie has never set eyes on John Flynn in her life; Bertie has it all planned out. He’s a doctor, after all, and it just doesn’t get any better than that. Before they’ve even reached Bertie’s house, Bertie has decided that Ellie and John will have beautiful children. Maybe she is acting strangely.
Ellie brings her things into the house, and stops short in the living room. The Christmas decorations are still up, but Bertie doesn’t want help taking them down. She has decided to celebrate Christmas all year long, and invites Ellie to pick a present from under the tree. It was a box of Hamburger Helper.
“Oh, good. You got dinner. Those are always my favorite presents,” Bertie exclaims. Ellie isn’t sure what to think.
The story really takes off from there, with Bertie’s eccentric ways, Ellie’s confusion, and the entrance of John, a dashing doctor so handsome, women intentionally injure themselves just so they can see him. He and Ellie get their relationship off to a rough start, but the attraction is undeniable. Toward the end of the book, we find out more about Bertie, and all the ends are tied up in a delightful bow, ready to be opened by the reader. LDS romantic comedy at its best, by a very talented author.
(This book was published in 2004 by Deseret Book.)