Define "Normal" [Hardcover]

Julie Anne Peters (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 3 and up

"Antonia is a "priss," Jazz is a "punk." Antonia belongs to the math club. Jazz hangs out at the tattoo parlor. Antonia's parents are divorced and her mother struggles to pay the rent. Jazz is from a traditional family and lives in a mansion with a pool. But when these two very different girls find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program, they discover they have some surprising things in common. Alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching, this is an absorbing read that will keep audiences thinking and laughing."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this middle-school drama, two seeming opposites become friends and discover they are not such opposites after all. Peters (How Do You Spell G-E-E-K?) does little to update this well-trod theme, and while there are touching moments in her book, it's generally bland. Nerdy Antonia is assigned to peer-counsel Jazz, whom Antonia assumes is "hopeless. A punker. A druggie. A gang hanger." After a few agonizing sessions, Antonia begins to realize how much she needs someone to talk to. Her dad has split (as readers learn midway through), her mom's so depressed she can't get out of bed and Antonia's overwhelmed with responsibility and pain. Not only does Jazz literally intervene to get her family back on the road to recovery, but by offering her friendship, Antonia learns to depend on someone besides herself. In turn, she helps Jazz learn to talk to her parents and to compromise on arguments without compromising herself. They both learn that judging people by their outside appearance can be misleading. Occasionally, Peters captures a feeling perfectly, like Antonia's loneliness. "That's how I feel, I thought. Like a star...," she says, looking at the sky. "Distant. Detached. Blinking. On-off. On-off." Mostly, though, the exposition depends more on telling than showing. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10-When Antonia is assigned to Jazz as a peer counselor, she figures there is no way she can help this tattooed, pierced, incorrigible girl. They are complete opposites. Antonia is a straight-A student whose parents are divorced and she is struggling to keep what's left of her family together as her mother battles depression. Jazz's family is wealthy and seemingly perfect. As they continue through the 15 hours of peer counseling, it becomes clear that both girls have issues they need to work through. They go from wary classmates to friends who support and help one another. As Antonia's mother is hospitalized for her depression, Jazz battles her own mother's need to control by quitting the one thing she loves most-playing classical piano. Both girls deal with their losses by finding new ways to look at their problems and to resume life as "normally" as possible. This believable book is well written and readers will feel that they know both Jazz and Antonia, and they will want to see them triumph over the frustrations in their lives.
Kimberly A. Ault, Lewisburg Area High School, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; 1st edition (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316706310
• ISBN-13: 978-0316706315
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #801,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For the last 20+ years, I've been writing books for young readers. My YA novel, Luna, the story of a transgender teen beginning her transition from male to female, was a National Book Award finalist and an American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. (Thank you award committee members.) My other books about gender queer youth include Keeping You a Secret, Far from Xanadu (which is now Pretend You Love Me), Between Mom and Jo, grl2grl: short fictions, Rage: A Love Story, and She Loves You, She Loves You Not... My newest title, published in 2010, is By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead. I have a new book scheduled for 2012 titled, It's Our Prom (So Deal With It).

I'm a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Pen America, the Authors Guild, and the Colorado Authors' League. I live with my long-suffering partner, Sherri Leggett, in Lakewood, Colorado. (We're celebrating our 38th anniversary this year. Seriously, I don't know how she stands living with a neurotic writer.)

More information about me and my books can be found on my Web site: www.JulieAnnePeters.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anything But Normal, December 18, 2005

By 

P. Bigelow (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Define "Normal" (Paperback)

Antonia, a straight-A student, a teacher-pleaser, and a "priss," is assigned Jasmine, a punker, a "in-your-face" non-conformist, for peer counseling in their middle school. Both are certain that the counseling is a waste of their time. But as Antonia's home life disintegrates, she finds she looks forward to meeting with Jazz. And Jazz likes talking with Antonia about her family life as well. The two slowly form a bond.

This is much more than a book about two girls in middle school. It's about the effects that both "good" and "bad" parents have on their children, it's about deciding what is, and isn't, normal, and it's about accepting the non-conformists in our midst.

This is an excellent book for all ages (even though it is about 8th graders, high schoolers can get something from it). Parents, too, should read it - it might help them understand what - and more importantly why - their children are revolting.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Review for "Define 'Normal'", June 16, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Define "Normal" (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading "Define 'Normal'" very much. I found it to be an excellent book because I can relate all too well to both Antonia and Jazz. In this story it clearly shows how it is sometimes hard to accept a reaching hand and how sometimes you just want to take care of things on your own. Still, it shows the power of friendship and how much friends can help us, and how friendship can be found in the most unexpected places.
I've re-read this book many times from the local library, and have come to decide to buy my own hardcover copy of it. Love this book, awesome read.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Define "Normal", October 19, 2003

By 

Solon Middle School Student - See all my reviews

This review is from: Define "Normal" (Paperback)

The book Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters was a great book. It was about two teenage girls that by looks are completely opposite. Antonia-very smart and dedicated to school joined the peer counseling program at school to help out other students and so she can go to college a year earlier, she was looking forward to doing this until she found out who she was assigned to counsel, Jazz Luther-a punker, and a drugie. After the first few sessions Antonia was begging to quit but her teacher convinced her to give Jazz a chance. When they started telling the truth and letting out some of their feelings they started to realize that they are not as different as they thought. They start to become friends and realize how good it is to have someone there to lean onto and to always talk to. The main intentions of the book were to not judge someone by how look and not to give up on just on a first impression. I think the author did a great job proving that point. I really recommend this book to others. It is very interesting and almost anyone can enjoy it. It helps remind you not to judge people by the inside and not to always assume and jump to conclusions before you really get to know them.