Waiting for Normal

Last updated
Waiting for Normal
Waiting for Normal.jpg
AuthorLeslie Connor
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date
February 5, 2008
ISBN 9780060890889

Waiting for Normal is a young adult novel by Leslie Connor, published by Katherine Tegen Books on March 17, 2009. [1]

Contents

Plot

A sixth-grader, Addie, has just moved into a trailer with her troubled mother. Once she has gotten over the move, Addie befriends some girls at school and a lady named Soula who runs the minimart. Time passes, and Addie's stepfather and two half-sisters visit less frequently than she'd like.

Suddenly, her mother gets involved in a romantic relationship, though she doesn't say so at first, and vanishes for days, sometimes weeks at a time, leaving Addie alone. Soon Addie's mother reveals that she is pregnant, despite their poor living conditions and financial situation. During one of her mother's disappearances, Addie accidentally sets the RV on fire, which leads Soula to call social services. Soon after, Soula dies of breast cancer, which causes Addie much grief. Social services briefly place Addie with her grandfather before she happily agrees to be adopted by her stepfather and his new fiancee. The novel ends with Addie living with Dwight and his family.

Reception

Waiting for Normal received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly [2] and Kirkus Reviews , [3] as well as the following accolades:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Creech</span> American writer of childrens novels

Sharon Creech is an American writer of children's novels. She was the first American winner of the Carnegie Medal for British children's books and the first person to win both the American Newbery Medal and the British Carnegie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libba Bray</span> American writer

Martha Elizabeth "Libba" Bray is an American writer of young adult novels including the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Going Bovine, and The Diviners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonya Sones</span> American poet and author

Sonya Sones is an American poet and author. She has written seven young adult novels in verse and one novel in verse for adults. The American Library Association (ALA) has named her one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.

Virginia Euwer Wolff is an American author of children's literature. Her award-winning series Make Lemonade features a 14-year-old girl named LaVaughn, who babysits for the children of a 17-year-old single mother. There are three books. The second, True Believer, won the 2001 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The second and third, This Full House (2009), garnered Kirkus Reviews starred reviews. She was the recipient of the 2011 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature, honoring her entire body of work.

<i>Sold</i> (McCormick novel) 2006 novel by Patricia McCormick

Sold is a novel by Patricia McCormick, published in 2006. It tells the story of a girl from Nepal named Lakshmi, who is sold into sexual slavery in India. The novel is written in a series of short, vignette-style chapters, from the point of view of the main character. The 2014 movie Sold by Oscar-winning director Jeffrey D. Brown is based on the same novel.

<i>Impulse</i> (Hopkins novel) 2007 young adult novel by Ellen Hopkins

Impulse is a 2007 American young adult novel in verse written by Ellen Hopkins. The novel digs into the lives of three troubled teenagers as they try to work their way out of the hospital by getting through what put them there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Langrish</span> British author

Katherine Langrish is a British author of fantasy for children and young adults. She was brought up in Yorkshire and Herefordshire, and wanted to be a writer from a young age. She was encouraged by her parents, and by the fact that her grandmother was a Yorkshire novelist and playwright of the 1930s, Leonora Thornber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. S. King</span> American writer

Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction. She is the recipient of the 2022 Margaret A. Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature."

<i>Out of Darkness</i> (novel) 2015 historical young adult novel by Ashley Hope Pérez

Out of Darkness is a historical young adult novel by Ashley Hope Pérez, published September 1, 2015 by Carolrhoda Lab. The novel chronicles a love affair between a teenage Mexican-American girl and a teenage African-American boy in 1930s New London, Texas, occurring right up to the 1937 New London School explosion.

Amie Kaufman is an Australian author. She has authored New York Times bestselling and internationally bestselling science fiction and fantasy for young adults. She is known for the Starbound Trilogy and Unearthed, which she co-authored with Meagan Spooner; for her series The Illuminae Files, co-authored with Jay Kristoff; and for her solo series, Elementals. Her books have been published in over 35 countries.

<i>Audrey, Wait!</i> 2008 young adult romance novel by Robin Benway

Audrey, Wait! is a young adult romance novel by Robin Benway, published April 10, 2008 by Razorbill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Acevedo</span> Dominican-American poet and author

Elizabeth Acevedo is a Dominican-American poet and author. In September 2022, the Poetry Foundation named her the year's Young People's Poet Laureate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiffany D. Jackson</span> American YA author and horror filmmaker

Tiffany D. Jackson is a New York Times Bestselling American author of young adult fiction and a horror filmmaker, best known for her NAACP Image Award-nominated debut novel Allegedly.

<i>The Poet X</i> 2018 YA novel by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X, published March 6, 2018 by HarperTeen, is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Acevedo. Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, also known as "X" or "Xio," works through the tension and conflict in her family by writing poetry. The book, a New York Times bestseller, was well received and won multiple awards at the 2019 Youth Media Awards.

<i>Dear Martin</i> 2017 young adult novel by Nic Stone

Dear Martin, published in 2017 by Crown Publishing Group, is a young adult novel by Nic Stone. It is Stone's debut novel, written as a reaction to the murder of Jordan Davis. The book appeared as #4 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Susan Kuklin is an American photographer and award-winning writer.

Mindy McGinnis is an American writer of young adult fiction. Her most notable works include Be Not Far from Me (2020), Heroine (2019), The Female of the Species (2016), and A Madness So Discreet (2015).

The Inheritance Games is a young adult novel series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The series focuses on a girl named Avery Kylie Grambs, and the Hawthorne family. It currently consists of three books: The Inheritance Games (2020), The Hawthorne Legacy (2021), and The Final Gambit (2022). A standalone book that follows the events of the series was released on August 29, 2023, The Brothers Hawthorne.

Nina LaCour is an American author, primarily known for writing young adult literature with queer, romantic story lines. Her novel We Are Okay won the Printz Award in 2017.

Elatsoe is a 2020 young adult novel by Lipan Apache author Darcie Little Badger; it is also Little Badger's debut novel. It was included on Time's list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. Some publications have classed the novel as part of the Indigenous Futurism movement.

References

  1. Connor, Leslie (2008). Waiting for normal. Pymble, NSW: HarperCollins e-books. ISBN   978-0-06-188163-3. OCLC   436874991.
  2. "Waiting for Normal". Publishers Weekly. 2008-02-18. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  3. "Waiting for Normal". Kirkus Reviews. May 20, 2010. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Connor, Leslie (2009-03-17). Waiting for Normal. Harper Collins. ISBN   978-0-06-188164-0.
  5. American Library Association (2009-01-22). "2009 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  6. 1 2 3 "Waiting for Normal". Goodreads. Retrieved 2021-03-08.