LOOKING FOR NORMAL

A heavy dose of reality pervades this moving story of loss and growth. With her opening words, “Daddy killed Mama today,” 12-year-old Annie begins “living a nightmare that can’t get worse.” Switching from past to present, Annie describes the breakdown in her parents’ relationship that led her father to shoot his wife and then himself, leaving Annie and her younger brother Ted orphans. As shock wears off and reality settles in, Annie feels “so mad at God, so mad at Daddy, so mad at everything in the world, that I can hardly breathe.” Unfortunately, the nightmare of domestic violence does get worse when Annie and Ted move in with their dysfunctional grandparents who have their own problems dealing with grief. But Annie’s voice rings honest and true throughout as she searches for a normal life, learning painful lessons about love and hate along with way. Somber and sober with a hint of hope. (Fiction. 10+)