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Halfway Normal Paperback – September 4, 2018

by Barbara Dee (Author)

159 ratings

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“A lovely, heartbreaking, warm, funny, and ultimately hopeful map of the way back home.” —Jordan Sonnenblick, author of Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie

A cancer survivor must readjust to “normal” middle school life in this “powerful story about surviving and thriving” (School Library Journal, starred review) from the author of Star-Crossed and Truth or Dare.

Norah Levy has just completed two years of treatment for leukemia and is ready to go back to the “real world” of middle school. She knows it’ll be tricky—but like the Greek mythological characters she read about while she was sick, Norah’s up for any challenge.

But seventh grade turns out to be harder than she thought. Norah’s classmates don’t know what to make of her. Her best friend, Harper, tries to be there for her, but she doesn’t get it, really—and is hanging out with a new group of girls. Norah’s other good friend, Silas, is avoiding her. What’s that about, anyway?

When Norah is placed with the eighth graders for math and science, she meets Griffin, a cute boy who encourages her love of Greek mythology and art. And Norah decides not to tell him her secret—that she was “that girl” who had cancer. But when something happens to make secret-keeping impossible, Norah must figure out a way to share her story.

But how do you explain something to others that you can’t explain to yourself? Can Nora take her cue from her favorite Greek myth? And then, once she finds the words, can she move forward with a whole new “normal?”

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barbara Dee is the author of fourteen middle grade novels including Unstuck, Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet, Violets Are Blue, My Life in the Fish Tank, Maybe He Just Likes You, Everything I Know About You, Halfway Normal, and Star-Crossed. Her books have earned several starred reviews and have been named to many best-of lists, including The Washington Post’s Best Children’s Books, the ALA Notable Children’s Books, the ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, the NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten. Barbara lives with her family, including a naughty cat named Luna and a sweet rescue hound named Ripley, in Westchester County, New York.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Halfway Normal THE GIRL WHO
The second I stepped into the room, somebody screamed.

I turned to look behind me—for a rock star, or a grizzly bear, or the Loch Ness Monster. But no one was following.

The scream was for me.

“Norah Levy! Omigod! It’s Norah Levy!” Two girls jumped up from their chairs to smother me in a hug. Kylie Shen and Aria Maldonado, who smelled like bubblegum-scented shampoo. Or shampoo-scented bubblegum.

“Hey, hi,” I managed to say.

They pulled away.

“Omigod, Norah, this is so great, how are you?” Kylie squealed. She had the kind of voice that took over a room, even though she was tiny. Not as tiny as me, though.

“Pretty good, actually,” I said.

“Well, you look amazing,” Aria said. She gave me a pep-talk sort of smile and bounced on her toes.

“Incredible,” Kylie agreed. “And I love your hair!”

“Yeah, Norah, you look so cute in a pixie cut.”

I ruffled my hair, much shorter than it used to be, but finally long enough to be a style. “Thanks. It dries really fast. And no tangles, so.”

“I wish my mom would let me get a short haircut,” Aria said. Which was insane. Besides, with her warm brown skin and her height, no way could Aria look like me, even if she got permission.

“Everyone, please take your seats,” boomed the homeroom teacher, a man I didn’t know from before. A gym teacher, by the look of his track pants.

Kylie grabbed my arm. “You’re sitting with us, Norah,” she informed me.

“Hey, aren’t you the girl who—” Now a boy I didn’t recognize was talking to me. Oh, wait a sec. Right. His name was Malik. Malik Thrash. As if it was possible to forget a name like that.

“Malik, don’t be rude,” Aria snapped at him.

“I’m not rude,” he protested. “How was I being rude?”

“You shouldn’t make Norah talk about it.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “Yes, I’m definitely The Girl Who.”

“That’s so funny. The Girl Who. I like that!” Kylie laughed, a little too enthusiastically.

Malik looked confused. “Sorry, Norah. I just didn’t expect to see you. I heard—”

Aria and Kylie popped their eyes at him.

“People should shut their mouths if they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Kylie said. “And they should also consider other people’s feelings.” She petted my arm. “Don’t pay any attention to him, Norah.”

“It’s fine,” I said.

I realized then that everyone was watching us. Delete that: They were watching me. Mostly, they were giving me out-of-the-corner-of-their-eyes looks, like they were trying to be subtle, but a few kids were flat-out staring. So I wiggled my fingers in a sort of general hi, but they got embarrassed and turned away.

What was that about? Were they doing a before-and-after? Maybe I looked weirder than I thought I did. I patted my hair with a sweaty hand and tugged at my orange tee. Why hadn’t I protested when Mom bought me orange? And why had I put it on this morning? I looked like a Cheeto in a hazmat suit.

Then I pretended to read my schedule. First period was math, where at least I’d be with my best friend, Harper. (I knew this because I’d texted her the second my schedule showed up in my mailbox; she called back to tell me gossip about all the teachers, including how our math teacher handed out Smarties during tests.) My other good friend, Silas, wasn’t in math with us, but maybe we’d be together in English or science. So if I could just make it through morning homeroom—

“Norah Levy?” the homeroom teacher called as he hung up the classroom phone. “You’re wanted in Guidance.”

“Now?” I glanced at the clock. “But it’s almost first period.”

“Right. Ms. Castro says she needs to see you before first.”

“You want me to come with you, Norah?” Aria asked.

I looked at her. “What for?”

“Just . . . you know, so you don’t get lost.”

“I can find it. But thanks.” I stuffed my schedule into my backpack. In some zippered pocket was a map of the building, but I’d check it in the hallway. Not here.

“Whoa, your backpack looks heavy,” Malik said. “If you want, Norah, I could help—”

“Nope, thanks, got it,” I said.

A girl moved her chair out of the way to let me pass. “Sorry,” she murmured. Apologizing for what? The fact that her chair had been in my way, and now wasn’t? The fact that everyone was acting like I was made of cloud wisps and dandelion fluff, and one false move and I’d blow away forever?

“No problem,” I said, feeling the scorch of everyone’s eyes as I fled the room.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aladdin
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 4, 2018
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1481478524
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1481478526
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 13 years
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.7 x 7.63 inches
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 8
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 620L
Best Sellers Rank: #861,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,394 in Children's New Experiences Books
- #4,570 in Children's Books on Emotions & Feelings (Books)
- #7,722 in Children's Friendship Books
Customer Reviews:
159 ratings

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Barbara Dee

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Barbara Dee is the author of thirteen middle grade novels published by Simon & Schuster, including HAVEN JACOBS SAVES THE PLANET, VIOLETS ARE BLUE, MY LIFE IN THE FISH TANK, MAYBE HE JUST LIKES YOU, EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT YOU, HALFWAY NORMAL and STAR-CROSSED. Her books have earned several starred reviews and have been named to many state and national book award lists, including the Washington Post's Best Children's Books, the ALA Notable Children's Books, the ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten, the NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, the Bank Street Best Children's Books, and Project Lit. Barbara is one of the founders of the Chappaqua Children's Book Festival. She lives with her family, their sweet rescue dog Ripley, and naughty cat Luna, in Westchester County, NY. Look out for UNSTUCK, coming from Aladdin/S&S February, 2024, and TEAR THIS DOWN, coming from Aladdin/S&S December 2024..

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Readability Heartfelt story

6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a great read, with one mentioning it's an excellent middle school story.

"it was a good book" Read more

"Really enjoyed this. Only read it because my 9 year old was at school, and I'm so glad I did. What a great way to come at cancer, and such honesty...." Read more

"What a great book. It helped me to learn a bit about what one of my former students was going through." Read more

"Excellent middle school read" Read more

4 customers mention "Heartfelt story"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the heartfelt story of the book, with one describing it as fantastic realistic fiction and another noting its honest portrayal.

"...Sprinkled with mythology references and allusions - this story is heartfelt and magical! I bought two copies for my fifth grade classroom!" Read more

"HALFWAY NORMAL is a heartrendering story about a girl who returns to middle school after two years of cancer treatment...." Read more

"...What a great way to come at cancer, and such honesty. Engaging and relatable." Read more

"Loved the story. So relevant for today’s classroom" Read more

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Amanda Schreiber
Fantastic Realistic Fiction!
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2017
Verified Purchase

"...Why can't I just go to school and have a regular, boring, normal life like everyone else?"

Norah is starting 7th grade after missing the past TWO years for cancer treatments. She's ready to have a "normal' life again and reconnect with her friends as Norah, not the girl with cancer. However, she is worried that she's missed too much in two years and several of her "friends" rarely came to see her while she was in the hospital. She just wants things to the way they used to be but they're not. For one, Norah gets put in an 8th grade math and science class where she is the only 7th grader. She also having trouble connecting with her old friends at school because so much has happened in two years - plus her parents have put her on lock down with pages and pages of RULES. She also keeps her cancer a secret from a new 8th grade friend. As Norah learns to navigate her new halfway normal life she begins to realize that being a "cancer" kid is part of her story and normal isn't all is cracked up to be. Sprinkled with mythology references and allusions - this story is heartfelt and magical! I bought two copies for my fifth grade classroom!

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Amanda Schreiber

Fantastic Realistic Fiction!

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2017
"...Why can't I just go to school and have a regular, boring, normal life like everyone else?"

Norah is starting 7th grade after missing the past TWO years for cancer treatments. She's ready to have a "normal' life again and reconnect with her friends as Norah, not the girl with cancer. However, she is worried that she's missed too much in two years and several of her "friends" rarely came to see her while she was in the hospital. She just wants things to the way they used to be but they're not. For one, Norah gets put in an 8th grade math and science class where she is the only 7th grader. She also having trouble connecting with her old friends at school because so much has happened in two years - plus her parents have put her on lock down with pages and pages of RULES. She also keeps her cancer a secret from a new 8th grade friend. As Norah learns to navigate her new halfway normal life she begins to realize that being a "cancer" kid is part of her story and normal isn't all is cracked up to be. Sprinkled with mythology references and allusions - this story is heartfelt and magical! I bought two copies for my fifth grade classroom!

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Sarah
Norah is far from perfect, and in fact makes many mistakes along the ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
HALFWAY NORMAL is a heartrendering story about a girl who returns to middle school after two years of cancer treatment. Although I do not have personal experience in this area, Barbara Dee's portrayal felt honest, nuanced, and real. Norah is far from perfect, and in fact makes many mistakes along the way. But I sympathized with her and rooted for her throughout the entire thing. The element of Greek mythology was handled very nicely. It didn't feel tacked on or pedantic, but rather a natural evolution of the story and Norah's character.

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3 people found this helpful

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Amanda
Great read
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2020
Verified Purchase
I read this with my 11 year old daughter. She now wants to learn more about Greek myths. Going through the emotions, trials, and tribulations with Norah, made you really empathize with her. It also made for great discussions about how you should act or treat others, especially if they are battling something.

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2 people found this helpful

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Amy Greer
Cancer mom approved!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
My daughter was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer & was out of school for 7 months. Her transition back into "the New Normal" was hard on all of us. As she gets closer to middle school & dealing with "mean girl drama" this was a must read! She read the book within 5 days & for her- that's huge!!

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3 people found this helpful

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Fayelle Ewuakye
Surprisingly, very good
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
Really enjoyed this. Only read it because my 9 year old was at school, and I'm so glad I did. What a great way to come at cancer, and such honesty. Engaging and relatable.

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Amy
Only it’s not clear that the people around her are ready to treat her like a “normal” kid
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2017
Summary:
Norah Levy is returning to seventh grade at Aaron Burr Middle School after two years away from school due to a battle with leukemia. The story opens with leukemia in the (mostly) past and Norah is ready to resume normal teen life. Only it’s not clear that the people around her are ready to treat her like a “normal” kid.

Appeal:

Barbara Dee does a strong take on writing a character with an illness, and I appreciated how Dee decided to write a story about the social struggles more than the physical and medical struggles. Norah is a good girl with a nerdy side, but she also makes some extremely unwise decisions in the story and at times ignores her parents’ mostly reasonable demands. I love myself some impulsive and poor judgment tween characters – Norah is one of them!

Possible issues with comprehension:

Dee layers in a story within a story about Greek mythology. Readers who aren’t already into the Greek myths might be confused by this layer, but I don’t think it will detract them from enjoying the overall story if they don’t dig the myths.

Recommended for:

You know those readers who say they want to read something like The Fault in our Stars but you’re pretty sure they aren’t going to enjoy the slow pacing of TFioS or the whole rant about Xeno’s paradox? This is a book that will satisfy that younger reader who wants a heavier topic.

Amy
teachingtransition.wordpress.com

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2 people found this helpful

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Loreli
A great read
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
What a great book. It helped me to learn a bit about what one of my former students was going through.

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Tammy brown
Great bool
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
Loved the story. So relevant for today’s classroom

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Halfway Normal Paperback – September 4, 2018

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