Search This Blog

Love reading challenges? Check out my other blog:

2023 Bookish Books Reading Challenge

My Progress:


24 / 30 books. 80% done!

20 Books of Summer 2023

My Progress:


17 / 20 books. 85% done!

2023 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (12)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (3)
- Maryland (2)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (12)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)

International:

- Australia (3)
- Canada (7)
- Chile (1)
- England (21)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
-Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
-Vietnam (1)

My Progress:


45 / 51 states. 88% done!

2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


25 / 25 books. 100% done!

2023 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


48 / 50 books. 96% done!

Booklist Queen's 2023 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


51 / 52 books. 98% done!

2023 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


46 / 52 books. 88% done!

2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


35 / 40 books. 88% done!

2023 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


29 / 40 books. 73% done!

2023 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


16 / 25 books. 64% done!

2023 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

Book Bingo Reading Challenge


20 / 25 books. 80% done!

2023 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


93 / 109 books. 85% done!

Children's Book Reading Challenge...For Adults!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

What's Normal? Hint: Not Your Family.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Mieka Baker doesn't know what a "normal" family looks like, but she's pretty sure hers doesn't qualify. Ever since her mom took off, she's been living with her artist dad in a Chicago apartment decorated in what he likes to call "Salvation Armani." Her maternal grandmother, who owns a secondhand shop nearby, is Mieka's only close relative. As if a fractured, abnormal family isn't enough to deal with, she's also watching her best friend defect to the popular side. Life gets even crueller when she has to stay with her cousin's perfect family for a few weeks. Hanging out with her beautiful cousin Greta only makes Mieka realize what a big, clumsy oaf she is. Between Greta's uber-niceness; her family's big, spotless Texan mansion; and Mieka's chain-smoking, poison-tongued fraternal grandma, Mieka will learn the true definition of "normal." Hint: No family really qualifies.

Wow! A one-paragraph book summary may be a new record for me. Chasing Normal by Lisa Papademetriou is easy to describe because it's really a quick, simple book about learning to accept yourself for who you are. The story's been done a million times, but Papademetriou at least gives us some fresh characters. Don't expect a perfect happily-ever-after ending, but it's a very honest, hopeful story.

(Readalikes: I could name one hundred similar kids-learning-to-love-themselves stories.)

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for one scene involving a submerged maxi pad

To the FTC, with love: I received this book from the generous folks at Disney/Hyperion. Thanks!

1 comment:

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin


Reading

<i>Reading</i>
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
My Calamity Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows



Followin' with Bloglovin'

Follow

Followin' with Feedly

follow us in feedly



Grab my Button!


Blog Design by:


Blog Archive