Customer Reviews

Define "Normal"

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I liked this book. It was pretty cool, and on the overall, quite well-written. I finished it in one day though. The story wasn't too long, and I felt the author could've written it even better if she'd put in more to give us more complete, 3-dimensional characters. However Julie Anne Peters has tackled the problems that teenagers nowadays do face, so we can relate. The plot was o.k, really, at first it started off a little not-so-good, but then the story started to thicken and you got more involved with Jazz and Antonia. That was when it started to get interesting and made you want to read on. I liked the part about the girls' peer counseling programs, and their discussions. It seemed genuine enough, like typical conversations, not fake or contrived. Like I said though, this is a good book on the whole, even if not excellent. Those aged 11 and above will probably enjoy it. 'Define "Normal" ' makes for good, fun reading.

Let me start off by telling you that I loved this book!!! It was so real and had these life-like charcters! I loved it!

Anyway, this book starts off in the peer conseling room with Jazz and Antonia. They are totally differnt people, as we can tell for sure, right from the beginning. Tone seems to express herself with her school work and picking up the slack at home. Jazz seems to have a very real perspective on life. Even though Tone (Antonia) describes her as a punker, a druggie, and a gang hanger they become friends by Tone getting into some trouble at home. After this event Tone really needs someone to be her friend for once. They keep talking at peer sessions and Tone fights with herself because of her mom being clinicly depressed. ( I know!! Tough to go through!). Anyway, soon Jazz has quit the one thing se love (piano) and Tone can't let this happen so she soon replaces the peer session with Jazz playing the piano!

In the end everything works out but I wouln't tell you exactly what happens because that would totally ruin this ausome story. Anyway,I give Julie Anne Peters props for writing this book. Great charcters and situations!! Loved it! I totally recomend this book. Also I love this tittle, Define "Normal". Thats my question for the day. No my intire life.

Define "Normal"!!

Jessica

I read the book Define Normal and I think that it's a funny book that captures you're attention and helps you learn from it. It's about 2 girls, Antonia and Jazz, who have to learn to get along in peer counseling. Antonia learns some valuable lessons from Jazz. Jazz learns from Antonia. Antonia's mom is sick and some people find out about it. They take her to the hospital. Antonia and her two brothers live with Jazz's family for a few days then go to a foster home. She learns that Jazz really does care for her. This book teaches the lesson you cant judge a book by its cover. I really enjoyed the book because it kept my attention all the way through and it really reminded me of my life. It did this by pointing out how I always look at differences as being bad. I don't hang with people who wear all black or just do totally different stuff that I didn't think of being normal people. Some people can be wearing all black and not be bad and still seem "normal". This book also kept my attention by putting humor in places that weren't so interesting. I think my favorite part is when Jazz teaches Antonia to swim. I would recommend this book to everyone it could help everyone in some area's of their life.

Define "Normel": A Novel, is a fairly good and funny book. Matter of fact, VERY funny at times. The book is intresting and creative, but I don't think it is as even nearly as good as other teen books, like Francesca Lia Block's. The story line is a little flat, and the characters arn't deep. Other wise, it's okay.

I really enjoyed reading this book because it was just so good. It's about a 14 year old girl that is an overachiever that hides her problems. However, she has to consel a totally out of control girl. the preppy overcheiver is not happy about this because it will be rather tough than just a after school activity for her. As the conseling begins, the overachiver begins to realize that SHE is the one being conseled and helped by the crazy girl. She learns to deal with her porblems.... this was a good book! read it!

One of the books that I read this year was Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters. In this book there are two main characters that are complete opposite from each other. As the story goes on they discover that they have more things in common than they imagined. As I read the story, even I found many things in common with these two girls.
Elizabeth is a shy quiet girl. She is known to be a "loner" at school. Her life is very troubling, but she prefers to hide all of her emotions. Jazz is the opposite from her, or at least she thinks she is. At school she is known to be a troublemaker. Hanging around with the wrong kinds of people and having different "tastes" in clothes. Her parents are from a very rich society her "punk" style. The two girls have to peer council each other. They think that they are doing the other person a favor by counseling one another. The truth is a whole different story. They become friends, but in secret. Jazz doesn't want her friends to find out because of her reputation.
People tend to think that two different kinds of social groups can't mix. In this case, a "punk" girls and a "loner", this book proves them wrong. I learned that you can't judge a person by how he/she looks. There is a lot more to a person than what we see on the outside.
I have never read a book that made more sense. This is a common problem that kids face, wondering what will happen if they talk to "that person" Not only is this book interesting to read, it has a moral. You have to have patience with a person until you find out their true personality. I recommend this book to kids who are in middle school. That's where these problems occur most often. I hope tat reading this book will change how a person thinks and feels.

"Define Normal"
By: Paulina Cabezas


I really liked the book. It addresses many things that we go through during middle school and High school. So many people judge people by what they wear, how their hair looks, what someone might say about them (rumors), where they live or by what their parents drive. This is not who the person is or how they should be judged. We should be judged on who we are on the inside, what we believe in, what we stand for, how we act and what we say. Too often we are not judged that way and we judge others by the outside not the inside. In the book Jasmine Luther (Jazz, for short) is judged by the outside not the inside. This book is in a High School setting and at first you think it is going to be about the differences between a "Preppy" and a "Punker". This is not the case. Antonia Dillon, an eighth grade preppy, was excited to join the peer counseling program at her high school until she meets Jasmine Luthe150r, Jazz, (the person her teacher pared her up with). She has heard many rumors about Jazz and none of which made her too happy about being pared up with her. Little did she know that not only would she be able to help Jazz, but Jazz would ultimately help her in the end.

Jazz had purple hair, black lips, earring through her eyebrow, tattoos, shredded jeans, and clunking ankle boots. Antonia had long straight hair, little makeup and wore collared shirts with pleated skirts. These two seamed mismatched at best. Antonia immediately thought to herself that there was no way she could help Jazz. She thought Jazz was hopeless, a punker, a druggie, a gang hanger and that she needed professional psychotherapy in a "Lock-up " facility not school peer counseling. Antonia tried to talk Dr. DiLeo, her teacher, to get her out of counseling Jazz. He told her there was more to Jazz than meets the eye. This is true of Antonia as well. Antonia had an abundant amount of problems. Her mother was always depressed and she was taking care of and raising her two younger brothers, Chuckie and Michael) as well as the house. She did everything in addition to keeping good grades and her homework done. Her house was a wreck when she got home. There was only cereal to eat and no milk (so they made milk from powder). Her mother was sick, again, and had not gotten out of bed. If it weren't for her brothers she would have probably left home. Now Jazz on the other hand was doing everything she could to get her parents attention. She shaved her head, pierced her tongue, and acted out in anger. On the other hand Antonia felt guilty for everything. Her dad leaving, her mother's depression, her brothers welfare. There wasn't anything that she didn't feel guilty about. Every week they met for the "PC" peer counseling. Antonia thought the entire time that she was helping Jazz and Jazz thought she was helping Antonia. Dr. DiLeo told each of the girls they were to help the other. Neither found out until the end.

Jazz's family was wealthy and literally had everything they needed (materially, at least). Jazz wasn't looking for material things. She wanted her parents to accept her for who she was on the inside, not the outside. She had a dream to go to Juilliard School for music (piano, to be exact). Jazz also had a gift. She could play the piano better than anybody and it came from the heart naturally. The only way to get into Juilliard was to out perform the other applicants and to win competitions. Antonia helped Jazz overcome the fear of winning and helped her to relate to her mother by making her see that her mother wasn't as "bad" as she thought. Antonia pointed out that her mother was in a "psycho" ward and didn't know whether she was going to get out and that she had always been this way.

Although, both girls were very different on the outside they were very much the same on the inside. They both had issues with who they thought they were and who everyone else thought they were. Jazz was always being misread as a trouble maker because of her appearance. She wasn't given a chance to shine for her talent, both with music and school classes. Antonia was a "prep" and was expected to do good and be strong. She literally took this to heart and put a tremendous amount of pressure on herself to be perfect and to carry the burden for her entire family. Through their similarities and through their differences the girls were able to help each other get through their problems. This was a great book that I would recommend all pre-teenage and teenage girls to read as they are coming into middle school.