Absolutely Normal Chaos
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4.4 • 110 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
"By turns sarcastic, tender, and irreverent, this will quickly make its way into the hands of readers who loved Walk Two Moons." —Kirkus
This beloved prequel to bestselling author Sharon Creech's Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons chronicles the life of a thirteen-year-old during her most chaotic and romantic summer ever via journal entries, filled with hilarious observations on love, death, and the confusing mechanics of holding hands.
Mary Lou is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller-coaster ride of all time.
Named one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing!
First Crush: From awkward conversations at the pool to the nerve-wracking chaos of holding hands for the first time, Mary Lou’s diary entries perfectly capture the fizz and panic of a first crush on Alex Cheevey.Summer Journal Format: Read along with thirteen-year-old Mary Lou’s hilarious and private summer journal, filled with sarcastic observations, secret thoughts, and footnotes on her crazy, "absolutely normal" life.Dealing with Grief: When a friendly new neighbor suddenly passes away, Mary Lou must navigate her confusing feelings about life and death for the very first time.Heartwarming Family Story: When her quiet, mysterious cousin Carl Ray comes to stay, Mary Lou’s already chaotic home gets turned completely upside down, leading to a summer she will never forget.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In what by now must be a subgenre in YA fiction-the novel cast as a journal written for an English assignment-Newbery Medalist Creech (Walk Two Moons) spins an affable if formulaic tale about one pivotal summer. Narrator Mary Lou, 13, the second of the five Finney children, is quite put out when she has to play maid for her uncommunicative cousin Carl Ray, 17, who comes to stay while he looks for a job. He gets one, to Mary Lou's surprise, at the hardware store owned by their new neighbor Mr. Furtz, who shortly afterward dies of a heart attack. Not only does Carl Ray remain in his new job, but an anonymous benefactor leaves him money-just like in Great Expectations, as Mary Lou points out. There the resemblance to Dickens ends: the astute reader will early on figure out the mystery behind Carl Ray's inheritance. Mary Lou is also slow to pick up clues about why her cute classmate Alex is always hanging around. Despite the occasionally creaky plot, Mary Lou's bouncy entries are still a lot of fun. Readers will enjoy her wry commentary on The Odyssey (on the school reading list), and girls especially will identify with Mary Lou's disgust at the giddy behavior of boy-crazy best friend Beth Ann and her own giggly rhapsodies on her first romance (``I am sooooo happeeeeee I can hardly stand it!''). Ages 10-14.
Customer Reviews
Very Compelling
Sharon Creech has done a wonderful job spinning this story!
My Favorite😄😄
I love this book! It should remain that this is my favorite author. A lot of crazy things in there. I read it and it came out toward the end that this is my favorite book.
Great Book
I had to read this book for summer reading. This book was really exciting. It's amazing you should read.