Looking for Normal [Library Binding]

Betty Monthei (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Dead. The word bounces from side to side in my head and spins in hot colors through my cold brain.

Dead means forever.

Forever, I cannot quite conceive.

It's the kind of nightmare most kids never even dream about.

One ordinary Tuesday morning, Annie is pulled out of class by her principal. Within minutes, the life she knows is shattered by the story of her father and a gun. Now both of her parents are dead, and the only two people left to explain things to Annie and her brother are the grandparents they never really knew.

In this poignant and witty debut novel about love and loss, family and identity, Annie wonders how to look for normal now that everything familiar has disappeared and she's stranded in a world she doesn't want to recognize.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8–"Daddy killed Mama today, just like he told her he would." Thus begins a wrenching novel narrated by 12-year-old Annie. She and her younger brother, Ted, are taken to live with their maternal grandparents, who had always made clear their contempt for the children's lower-class father. The grandparents are well off, but Grandmother drinks and has mood swings, and Grandfather spends all of his time at the office due to an inability to deal with his emotions. Flashbacks tell about Annie's parents' marriage. After losing a series of jobs, Daddy became angrier, drank more often, and beat his wife, which caused her to finally get a restraining order. Meanwhile, in the present, the grandmother is mentally abusing Annie. After the abuse turns physical, the woman is sent away. Grandfather tries to pull the family together, promising things will be better from now on. Grandmother asks Annie's forgiveness, which is given. The author is superb at describing the characters' moods and the oppression caused by sadness, fear, and shock. However, it is difficult to imagine who the audience is for this very tough story. It is unremittingly grim with little hope for relief.–B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. It's a sad world that needs books to help children deal with murdered parents, but first-time author Monthei writes a sensitive, poignant novel about dealing with the impact of just such horrific loss. After being called out of class by the principal, 12-year-old Annie is told that her father shot and killed her mother and then turned the gun on himself. Annie and younger brother Ted experience all the stages of grief (shock, denial, sadness, acceptance) as they transition to living with grandparents who hated their father. Through it all, Annie wonders if it's still OK to love someone who has done something so horrible. Rather than pulling together, the family's healing is slowed by Grandma's drinking and misplaced anger, Grandpa's increasing absences from the home, and the children's disenfranchisement from their friends. Only after Grandma spirals out of control does the family finally begin to deal with its problems. For a younger audience than Julius Lester's When Dad Killed Mom (2001), this powerful story will interest children who read the grim headlines and wonder about the lives behind them. Cindy Dobrez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060725060
• ISBN-13: 978-0060725068
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,414,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant story of vast changes and new beginnings, November 4, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking for Normal (Library Binding)

One morning Annie is pulled from class to learn now both her parents are dead and she and her brother are to live with grandparents they never really knew. How can anything be normal again, now that everything she's known has vanished? And, death means forever; nothing will ever be the same. A poignant story of vast changes and new beginnings.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant story of vast changes and new beginnings, November 4, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking for Normal (Library Binding)

One morning Annie is pulled from class to learn now both her parents are dead and she and her brother are to live with grandparents they never really knew. How can anything be normal again, now that everything she's known has vanished? And, death means forever; nothing will ever be the same. A poignant story of vast changes and new beginnings.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant story of vast changes and new beginnings, November 4, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking for Normal (Library Binding)

One morning Annie is pulled from class to learn now both her parents are dead and she and her brother are to live with grandparents they never really knew. How can anything be normal again, now that everything she's known has vanished? And, death means forever; nothing will ever be the same. A poignant story of vast changes and new beginnings.