Tucker, Helen "The Sound of Summer Voices"

Tucker, Helen "The Sound of Summer Voices" - 1969

What do you think when you are eleven years old and find out that your aunt is your mother and your mother never existed? This is the problem Patrick is facing but nobody wants to tell him the truth. So, he has to spy on his whole family in order to find out more details.

A very interesting story about growing up as well as coming to terms with a past you were not involved in. I read this novel years ago but wouldn't mind reading it again, if only I had a copy ...

From the back cover:

"One summer day while sitting on the front porch and mulling over bits and pieces of information about himself and his family, eleven year old Patrick Q. Tolson concludes that one of his aunts is, in fact, his mother. This conclusion alarms him since it means that everyone in his family, his two maiden aunts, his Uncle Darius and even Mavis, the cook, has been lying to him for years. No doubt the woman they claimed had given birth to him and then died had, in fact, never existed. From this day on he uses his talents for eavesdropping to slowly but persistently search for the truth. He hides in trees and hunkers down in the back seats of cars listening and listening until his true origins become clear. When he finally learns the truth he also learns something about love, God and forgiveness."