Addie is waiting for normal. But Addie's mother has an all-or-nothing approach to life: a food fiesta or an empty pantry, her way or no way. All-or-nothing never adds up to normal, and it can't bring Addie all to home, where she wants to be with her half sisters. But Addie never stops hoping that one day, maybe, she'll find normal.
Waiting for Normal
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Book Description
Best Value
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
We’ve seen this situation before: a parent neglects a child, while the child seeks a wider community to find support. Here that child is 12-year-old Addie, who lives with Mommers in a trailer on a busy street in Schenectady after her adored stepfather and half sisters move upstate. Mommers has lost custody of the “littles” because of neglect, and though she and Addie can laugh together, once Mommers hooks up with Pete, she is not much for good times—though she brings the bad times home. Addie finds solace in occasional visits to her sisters and in her neighbors, especially Soula, ill from her chemotherapy treatments. Connor takes a familiar plot and elevates it with smartly written characters and unexpected moments. Addie starts out being a kid who thinks she has to go along to get along, but as Mommers’ actions become more egregious, her spine stiffens. And though Addie loves her time upstate, she is willing to forgo it when the normality she has there is more painful than positive. This is a meaningful story that will touch many. Grades 5-7. --Ilene Cooper
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
“A heroine with spunk and spirit offers an inspiring lesson in perseverance and hope. First-rate.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )
“A story centered around loss, heartbreak, abandonment, and new beginnings.” (School Library Journal (starred review) )
*“This book persuades that good people and delighful possibilities are all around, even in the most unpromising circumstances.” (KLIATT )
“[Leslie] Connor treats the subject of child neglect with honesty and grace in this poignant story. Characters as persuasively optimistic as Addie are rare, and readers will gravitate to her.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )
“Connor convincingly portray’s Addie’s beyond-her-years resourcefulness and the opposing feelings that drive her to protect the life she has while longing to be a permanent part of the ‘normal’ home her sisters occupy with her stepfather.” (The Horn Book )
“A story centered around loss, heartbreak, abandonment, and new beginnings.” (School Library Journal (starred review) )
*“This book persuades that good people and delighful possibilities are all around, even in the most unpromising circumstances.” (KLIATT )
“[Leslie] Connor treats the subject of child neglect with honesty and grace in this poignant story. Characters as persuasively optimistic as Addie are rare, and readers will gravitate to her.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )
“Connor convincingly portray’s Addie’s beyond-her-years resourcefulness and the opposing feelings that drive her to protect the life she has while longing to be a permanent part of the ‘normal’ home her sisters occupy with her stepfather.” (The Horn Book )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
72 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Once in a while a reviewer of children's books likes to sit down and reassess their occupation. Here I am. I am an adult and I review books for kids. And most of the time I really enjoy it. I just have a fabulous time reading all these children's books and then spouting off opinions about why you should or shouldn't hand 'em off to the youngsters. But in the end I am still an adult and my opinion is that of someone over the age of 25. A lot of people in my position have a hard time separating their adult perspective from their knowledge of what kids like. Am I blabbering on here? Well, there's a reason for it. Nine times out of ten, when I read a children's book that mucks with my mind, I don't review it. Simple as that. I think, "Book hard. Me no review. Me watch Colbert Report instead," and that is that. But I felt compelled to push through my natural malaise to review "Waiting for Normal" by Leslie Connor. This is partly because the book has been garnering pretty much universally stellar reviews. The writing is strong, the characters interesting, and the plot tight. My problem? The audacity of hope, I guess. This book is awash in it. And so, I must pry my snide, callous, New York City sardonic self away from myself as a 12-year-old child and let these two components of my reviewer self duke it out.
Say what you will about Addie, she doesn't let a little thing like the complete and total dissolution of her family unit get her down. Addie's mom (or Mommers) and Addie's wonderful stepfather Dwight have just gotten divorced, and he is legally responsible for their children. Addie, on the other hand, is biologically just her mom's kid so she's left to live with Mommers in a trailer in the middle of Schenectady that Dwight has provided. Addie's always had a way of dealing with her mom's inconsistencies all her life, and now isn't any different. With Mommers disappearing for days at a time, Addie concentrates on the things she can control. Her flute playing, her hamster Piccolo, her friends at the corner convenience store, and getting to see her half-sisters and Dwight whenever she can. Yet as her sisters' lives get increasingly better without her, Addie's own world becomes more and more unstable. Strength of character is her best friend now and her eventual freedom will have to rely on danger.
What I'm trying to figure out is why I originally resisted this title. I think it may have something to do with the language that's surrounding the book. Phrases like, "one girl's giant spirit" and "will touch readers' hearts." Ew. We live in a society where real honest emotion is far harder to find than crass commercialized Hallmark moments. Plus I read so many books that try to take advantage of a reader's feeling by shamelessly tugging at the heartstrings like they were marionette lines. Do that once too often and the strings get lank and loose. Then "Waiting for Normal" comes by and it isn't flashy at all. It's packaging keeps pronouncing in big shiny letters, "A heartwarming gem", and the like, and badda bing, you're jaded before you've even read a page.
What I would have preferred would have been to have received this book as a coverless, blurbless manuscript. Just black words on white paper, because the power of Connor's writing doesn't lie in promising you a rollercoaster journey of the soul. She's a good writer precisely because she is understated. Look at her other books. This is the woman who wrote the brave picture book tale, Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel (Ira Children's Book Awards. Primary). If you haven't read that book then you have a gap in your library. Fill that gap. In that story Connor's words are honed down to their pure essential core, telling a story without fluffy details and ridiculous razzmatazz. And the same feeling shows up in this book, but in a different way. Here, Connor's voice as Addie is what holds everything together. Addie's not laugh-out-loud funny but she is wry, self-deprecating, and the kind of person a kid would want to spend a whole book with. Come for the tone, stay for the writing.
There was one other obstacle to overcome before I declared the book a winner. It has what can only be described as the most hope-ridden child since Pollyanna herself. A 21st Century Pollyanna for the masses, that's what Addie is. But there's a difference between being hopeful and being blind or ignorant to the world's injustices. Addie has faith in a way that, somehow, is never annoying. Do you have any idea how hard that must be to write? And what's more, when the obligatory "our heroine loses hope" scene comes up, it's its own beast. Some kids would stop eating, going to school, or seeing their friends. Addie returns a flute, and somehow that carries more weight. I mean, she's still a pretty unbelievably well adjusted kid, for all that's happened to her in her life. For example, when she finds out that her beloved step-dad is getting married to a wonderful woman and that he and her half-siblings are going to be cheery, merry, and gay with this person, does she dislike the interloper or resent Dwight telling her this news? No, instead she punches his arm lightly and says, "Thanks for telling me everything," which is verging on the disbelievable. If you can overcome your skepticism when this kind of thing happens, you'll have an easier time reading the book.
Was some of it predictable? Of course! Because (and this is what I, for some reason, have to keep reminding myself here) this is a children's book and if you read a certain amount of them then elements are going to crop up more than once. Addie's mother kept reminding me of negligent mom or pop characters in other books, but she certainly had a manic depressive style of her own. And none of this is to say that I wasn't delighted to see some of my jaded assumptions just go higgledy-piggledy out the window. The rule in children's literary drama is that if the child with a bad housing situation receives a cute fluffy animal (say, a guinea pig) in Act One, then that same fluffy animal is going to die sometime in the next fifty pages. I call this the Chinese Cinderella rule. A rule that Connor wasn't afraid to use to ratchet up the tension without actually pulling the trigger.
I would recommend reading the first chapter of this book (it's only five pages) in a children's literary course or a class on how to write for children as an example of showing, not telling. Our slow realization that Addie's mother is selfish and self-centered isn't crystal clear from page one. All the same, you're getting hints of it. It's like when you meet someone on the street and as the conversation continues you get that slow dawning sense that the person across from you is one Brady short of a Bunch. That's what Ms. Connor does. She draws you into her characters so that your faith in them is reliant on where a scene goes from one moment to the next.
Now I began this review by mentioning that an adult reviewer who talks about a book for kids should always remember that the intended audience is (shockingly) not twenty-nine-year-old librarians. So here's the million-dollar question: Are kids going to like this book? And the answer is: Darn tooting. Darn tooting they will, because if nothing else Waiting for Normal is infinitely readable. Here's why I think the book is going to work for the kiddies. It's clocking in at 304 pages, but it reads zippy quick. I didn't feel a lull or a gap in action at any point. The drama is focused pretty squarely on the family situation, which means we don't have to have the rote scene where the best friend at school suddenly befriends the popular snob. Also, my library often hosts a pack of sixth grade girls who only want one thing: realistic girl books. Finding titles for the tween set is always difficult because you don't want to hand them stuff that's too mature and you don't want babyish fare either. Waiting for Normal is going to be perfect for all parties involved, and I cannot wait to get it into their hands.
All right, I give in. It's a good book. Maybe even a great one, though I think it would take a rereading or two to know for sure. Kids will dig it, adults obviously do already, and as a reader I'd just like to say that if you or your kids aren't into "heartwarming" tales, I think you'll still enjoy this book. It's definitely been bitten by the honesty bug. A title that deserves attention.
Say what you will about Addie, she doesn't let a little thing like the complete and total dissolution of her family unit get her down. Addie's mom (or Mommers) and Addie's wonderful stepfather Dwight have just gotten divorced, and he is legally responsible for their children. Addie, on the other hand, is biologically just her mom's kid so she's left to live with Mommers in a trailer in the middle of Schenectady that Dwight has provided. Addie's always had a way of dealing with her mom's inconsistencies all her life, and now isn't any different. With Mommers disappearing for days at a time, Addie concentrates on the things she can control. Her flute playing, her hamster Piccolo, her friends at the corner convenience store, and getting to see her half-sisters and Dwight whenever she can. Yet as her sisters' lives get increasingly better without her, Addie's own world becomes more and more unstable. Strength of character is her best friend now and her eventual freedom will have to rely on danger.
What I'm trying to figure out is why I originally resisted this title. I think it may have something to do with the language that's surrounding the book. Phrases like, "one girl's giant spirit" and "will touch readers' hearts." Ew. We live in a society where real honest emotion is far harder to find than crass commercialized Hallmark moments. Plus I read so many books that try to take advantage of a reader's feeling by shamelessly tugging at the heartstrings like they were marionette lines. Do that once too often and the strings get lank and loose. Then "Waiting for Normal" comes by and it isn't flashy at all. It's packaging keeps pronouncing in big shiny letters, "A heartwarming gem", and the like, and badda bing, you're jaded before you've even read a page.
What I would have preferred would have been to have received this book as a coverless, blurbless manuscript. Just black words on white paper, because the power of Connor's writing doesn't lie in promising you a rollercoaster journey of the soul. She's a good writer precisely because she is understated. Look at her other books. This is the woman who wrote the brave picture book tale, Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel (Ira Children's Book Awards. Primary). If you haven't read that book then you have a gap in your library. Fill that gap. In that story Connor's words are honed down to their pure essential core, telling a story without fluffy details and ridiculous razzmatazz. And the same feeling shows up in this book, but in a different way. Here, Connor's voice as Addie is what holds everything together. Addie's not laugh-out-loud funny but she is wry, self-deprecating, and the kind of person a kid would want to spend a whole book with. Come for the tone, stay for the writing.
There was one other obstacle to overcome before I declared the book a winner. It has what can only be described as the most hope-ridden child since Pollyanna herself. A 21st Century Pollyanna for the masses, that's what Addie is. But there's a difference between being hopeful and being blind or ignorant to the world's injustices. Addie has faith in a way that, somehow, is never annoying. Do you have any idea how hard that must be to write? And what's more, when the obligatory "our heroine loses hope" scene comes up, it's its own beast. Some kids would stop eating, going to school, or seeing their friends. Addie returns a flute, and somehow that carries more weight. I mean, she's still a pretty unbelievably well adjusted kid, for all that's happened to her in her life. For example, when she finds out that her beloved step-dad is getting married to a wonderful woman and that he and her half-siblings are going to be cheery, merry, and gay with this person, does she dislike the interloper or resent Dwight telling her this news? No, instead she punches his arm lightly and says, "Thanks for telling me everything," which is verging on the disbelievable. If you can overcome your skepticism when this kind of thing happens, you'll have an easier time reading the book.
Was some of it predictable? Of course! Because (and this is what I, for some reason, have to keep reminding myself here) this is a children's book and if you read a certain amount of them then elements are going to crop up more than once. Addie's mother kept reminding me of negligent mom or pop characters in other books, but she certainly had a manic depressive style of her own. And none of this is to say that I wasn't delighted to see some of my jaded assumptions just go higgledy-piggledy out the window. The rule in children's literary drama is that if the child with a bad housing situation receives a cute fluffy animal (say, a guinea pig) in Act One, then that same fluffy animal is going to die sometime in the next fifty pages. I call this the Chinese Cinderella rule. A rule that Connor wasn't afraid to use to ratchet up the tension without actually pulling the trigger.
I would recommend reading the first chapter of this book (it's only five pages) in a children's literary course or a class on how to write for children as an example of showing, not telling. Our slow realization that Addie's mother is selfish and self-centered isn't crystal clear from page one. All the same, you're getting hints of it. It's like when you meet someone on the street and as the conversation continues you get that slow dawning sense that the person across from you is one Brady short of a Bunch. That's what Ms. Connor does. She draws you into her characters so that your faith in them is reliant on where a scene goes from one moment to the next.
Now I began this review by mentioning that an adult reviewer who talks about a book for kids should always remember that the intended audience is (shockingly) not twenty-nine-year-old librarians. So here's the million-dollar question: Are kids going to like this book? And the answer is: Darn tooting. Darn tooting they will, because if nothing else Waiting for Normal is infinitely readable. Here's why I think the book is going to work for the kiddies. It's clocking in at 304 pages, but it reads zippy quick. I didn't feel a lull or a gap in action at any point. The drama is focused pretty squarely on the family situation, which means we don't have to have the rote scene where the best friend at school suddenly befriends the popular snob. Also, my library often hosts a pack of sixth grade girls who only want one thing: realistic girl books. Finding titles for the tween set is always difficult because you don't want to hand them stuff that's too mature and you don't want babyish fare either. Waiting for Normal is going to be perfect for all parties involved, and I cannot wait to get it into their hands.
All right, I give in. It's a good book. Maybe even a great one, though I think it would take a rereading or two to know for sure. Kids will dig it, adults obviously do already, and as a reader I'd just like to say that if you or your kids aren't into "heartwarming" tales, I think you'll still enjoy this book. It's definitely been bitten by the honesty bug. A title that deserves attention.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The main character in the book is a young girl named Addie. Life is throwing her for a loop. Her mother has some problems and never takes the time to be a real mother to Addie. The book follows Addie through a time in her life that teaches her a lot about herself. She discovers that her life is not perfect and never will be but with people that love you by your side you will be just fine.
As I read this story it made me really thankful for the life that I have and the life that I am able to give my children. At the same time it broke my heart to think that there are kids out there today like the character Addie and are really raising themselves in the world.
This book would be best for girls. There is a scene in the book that discuses menstrual cycle. It is done in a tasteful way but co-ed reading of the novel may be uncomfortable.
As I read this story it made me really thankful for the life that I have and the life that I am able to give my children. At the same time it broke my heart to think that there are kids out there today like the character Addie and are really raising themselves in the world.
This book would be best for girls. There is a scene in the book that discuses menstrual cycle. It is done in a tasteful way but co-ed reading of the novel may be uncomfortable.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By N. Hall
Format:Hardcover
I brought this book home for my daughter, and ended up reading it first, and loving it. In Addie, the middle schooler at the heart of this book, Connor has created a protagonist that readers will care for and relate to. The author deftly but lovingly balances Addie's troubles with her strengths, and makes even characters like Addie's dysfunctional mother real, fully fleshed out people we care about. The book is heartwarming without ever being cloying or sentimental,and the writing is pitch-perfect throughout. When I gave it to my daughter she buried her nose in it and didn't put it down until she was done. Fabulous.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
Absolutely the best YA book I have read so far. Solid writing, solid characters, and I cried more than once, this book is that good.
Published 1 month ago by Sam Grist
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good
Bought this for my 14 y/o daughter. She found it too immature. This may have been my fault, didn't read the description well enough....
Published 5 months ago by Charles M. Boothby
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book of great hope and strength
I must first confess I am much older than the recommended age (10+). I'm 40+. That being said, I loved this book. Read more
Published 10 months ago by B. Soriano
5.0 out of 5 stars
What is normal?
This is a wonderful book written about a girl who wants to live a normal life. Every time she thinks she has it something happens and it gets stripped away. Read more
Published 12 months ago by lyssyloves
4.0 out of 5 stars
Waiting for the next book!
Addie's stepfather and mom have just split up. Addie goes to live with her mom and her step dad and sisters stay behind. Read more
Published 15 months ago by |Karma|
5.0 out of 5 stars
aweome book
this book was so awesome.I loved it!I didn't want to put it down once i stsrted reading.My favorite character would have to be Katie. Read more
Published 16 months ago by L. A. Atkins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hats off!
Waiting for Normal
Hats off to Leslie Connor for writing this book! She could hardly have picked a more difficult subject. Read more
Hats off to Leslie Connor for writing this book! She could hardly have picked a more difficult subject. Read more
Published on August 2, 2010 by E. Holmes
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of My Favorites This Year
I bought this book to add to my sons' collection so when they're a little bit older, they can read some different books. This one is definitely one of my favorites. Read more
Published on April 23, 2010 by Busy Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars
So sad to have this book end..
I started and finished this book today. I was so sad to turn the last page. It definitely tugs at your heart strings. Read more
Published on April 19, 2010 by A. Mach
5.0 out of 5 stars
Both Moving and Entertaining
Twelve-year-old Addison Schmeeter's life has had more than its fair share of twists and turns. Her father died when she was barely three. Read more
Published on February 9, 2010 by Karen
