Absolutely Normal Chaos

Absolutely Normal Chaos
Written By: Sharon Creech (Winner of the Newberry Medal for Walk Two Moons.)
Harper Collins Publishers
February 1997
Ages: 12 and up
Pages: 230

Summary

Mary Lou Finney, from Walk Two Moons has been assigned to write and keep a summer journal to be reviewed by her new teacher at the beginning of the school year. The journal starts out as recording the rather boring goings on of her family and friends, but soon things are turned upside down when Mary Lou's backwoods cousin, Carl Ray, comes to visit, wher her boy crazy best friend Beth Ann becomes two faced and goes off the deep end and when mary lou falls in love with a boy from school, Alex Cheevey. Some of my favorite parts of this "journal" are when Mary Lou records her experiences and musings as she reads the Odyssey. Here is an excerpt: "Book eleven of the odyssey is deadly boring. Ha. That's a pun because this part is all about Odysseus' visit to the dead. It wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be. He meets some old friends who weren't as lucky as he (they're dead, after all) and also he meets a prophet who tells him what's going to happen to him in the future. He warns him about all the dangers ahead and tells him that he will kill all of his wife's suitors. I didn't think Homer should give away the ending like that. Also, this prophet tells Odysseus how he will die!!! he's gong to die at the sea, but a sort of peaceful death." This is just a taste of what you will find when you read this book.

Who would benefit from reading this book?

I think this book would mostly be appropriate for girls around 12 or so. They would like it because the girl in the book is just like them and they will come to realize that they aren't the only ones with problems, it's not the end of the world and there are so many things you can do to solve those problems.

What problems may arise from reading this book?

Like any other girl her age, Mary Lou is growing up and going through lots of different changes, becoming more curious about relationships, boys and of course, sex. This might be a good book for young girls to read with their mothers in order to understand some different things.

What was your reaction?

I loved this book and I've read it more times than I can remember. Mary Lou's witty and sarcastic comments keep the book's plot moving, making it interesting and easy to read.