Waiting for Normal
No, I’m not sitting around waiting for a normal day to happen upon me. Perhaps that’s because I know and love the fact that there really is not such thing as normal.
I do know that I just finished Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor and have a great desire to shout its praises to the world!
The title didn’t cry out to me at first glance. Many times I get new books shipped in and a pile quickly forms made up of books that scream: Read me! Read me! Waiting for Normal just started at me from a display for a few months, getting checked in and checked out by happy teenagers, but I never felt overly compelled to make it my next read. When it was time to select a new book club book, something took hold of me and I ordered enough copies through ILL for my girls. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s meeting.
Addie is one of those characters you wish existed in real life. She’s the lovable heroine of this book, seeing the best in other people and hopefully willing her reality to be better than what it is. Her mother lives an erratic life, wanting to be a good mother but clearly lacking the ability to step outside of her selfish and self-centered box.
When Addie was younger, her mother (or Mommers) married an exceptionally wonderful man named Dwight. After the birth of two daughters, Dwight and Mommers divorced. Addie, because she’s not Dwight’s biological child, moves to a trailer in Schenectady with Mommers. Addie makes the best of their situation, making friends with some adult neighbors across the street, focusing on practicing her flute, and taking care of her hamster, Piccolo. As Addie goes about her daily routines, her mother’s behavior becomes increasingly sporadic; sometimes she doesn’t come home for days.
Although he’s not Addie’s biological father, Dwight considers himself her dad and values very much Addie’s relationship with her half sisters. Dwight does everything in his power to help protect Addie and make sure she always knows that she has a family. He’s aware that Addie’s mother can be negligent with her children (which is the reason he has custody of their two girls) and keeps in close contact with Addie. He lives far enough away, however, that Addie is able to keep some secrets about her mother for too long.
Leslie Connor’s writing is nothing short of genius in this little gem. Addie is hopeful, but not perfectly-so. We believe and can easily picture the situations that Addie is faced with as her unstable mother spins chaos around her. Dwight is the kind of man we hope that all children have in their lives to protect them from harm. And the friends Addie meets along the way are unforgettable personalities.
Patience, relisience, and faith are major players in this story but this is a tale of hope above all else. Addie proves that nothing in this world is perfect, but it’s quite reasonable and practical to wait for normal.
I recommend this book for students in grades 5, 6, or 7. Addie’s voice speaks directly to the middle-grade age group. I have some 8th grade students in the book club and perhaps I’ll discover tomorrow that I can add a grade to that recommendation.
Until then, happy reading!
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I thought this book was a heartwarming and loving book. It made me get teary eyes at the end. I honestly thought that this was a 4 star book not 5 and nothing less than 4 but I enjoyed the whole thing and i plan to read it again sometime and i hope to see possibly a movie on it. A movie would be amazing and I could play Addie i fit the part perfectly…except I don’t like the flute haha or living in a trailer home. And my dads name is dwight.