Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

3 stars -- It's okay.

Waiting for Normal is, like The Unfinished Angel, a bit younger than my normal reading age range. Unlike The Unfinished Angel, it didn't make me feel okay about reading so young. Don't get me wrong, it was fine for its age range. I'm sure 9-12-year-olds would enjoy, but I didn't very much.

Like Ash, I put this book down and would pick it up days later without qualms. It was slow moving; there just wasn't much going on. Granted, for a younger age range, this is probably perfectly acceptable. It's also very realistic, which I think is a plus.

The main character, Addie, is 12 years old, and she appears to be the adult in the relationship between herself and her mother. They've just moved into a trailer owned by Addie's ex-step-dad, which means Addie is starting at a new school, has to make new friends, has to explain her learning problems all over again.

Addie's mom is clearly neglectful, leaving Addie alone for days at a time and using the money the step-dad sends for her own personal uses rather than to buy, say, food or clothing. But Addie loves her mom (as most children do... for a few more years at least), and she goes out of her way to protect her and to hide the extent of the neglect... until it just can't be hidden any more.

The story does have a happy ending for Addie, although her coming sibling leaves the adult reader a tad worried (albeit for a fictional unborn character). The book addresses the issues of cancer, homosexuality, neglect, stealing, adoption, step-relationships and half-relationships, and many other things that I think the juvenile crowd would find beneficial to read about and become familiar with. It also does it very well. I was not offended by any of the issues, nor did I feel like I was being beaten over the head with them. If a reader is very young, they probably wouldn't even notice.

So my 3 stars is merely because I wasn't drawn into the story very much, and that I am, obviously, much too old for the genre. But I really feel like readers in the juvenile age range would enjoy and could benefit from reading this story. It's very well written, and Addie's story is relatable and realistic.

Worth introducing to a young reader in your life!