Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

Summary:Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother's erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York. (Goodreads)

I don't know why the summary is so short but I guess that's what I' here for. (;
Addie is just an ordinary upcoming sixth grade who plays the flute but desires to play the piccolo one day. She of course has her twists and turns in her life like everyone does. That flute I was talking about is stolen. Her mother is all or nothing which for me is code name for bipolar. Her father dies when she was still a toddler. She does have sisters but they are her half sisters. Her step-father... well ex-stepfather Dwight is a real nice guy but push come to shove he couldn't live with her mother anymore. He took his two daughters wth him but has always cared about Addie. He sets them up in tis trailer that her mother complains about day in and day out. I don't know why she cares since she's always on her computer. Chatting with this guy.

She makes a couple of school friends at a kind of orchestra club. She has this journal where she writes words and looks them up later in her Websters dictionary. She happens to have dyslexia. She feels she doesn't have what her mother calls "The Love of Learning." She makes friends with Soula and the gas station owner which sorry I forgot his name. They care for her. It's kind of not realistic how much they like having her around knowing that they are adults but with what they have to deal with it's no wonder they need a good laugh.

My mom actually read this book before me and like it. That's a first. I t was a really good story. I guess since I'm not that age anymore but it was real awkward for me when she was talking about the effects of puberty on her. That's not really how it happened but the book talked about it. It's a very touching story and my mom said something that was nice. She wanted to take her home with her. Towards the end and how she feels about the whole situation she's in is why I think she said so because it is very sad but a very rewarding read.

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