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Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters follows the lives of two teenage girls, Jazz and Antonia, who couldn’t be more different, or could they? Antonia is asked to join a peer counseling program and walks in the first day, only to want to run right back out. Who does she see as her partner but Jasmine “Jazz’ Luther, a member of the punk crowd who even takes extremes to the extreme. Antonia, about as straight-laced and “normal” as a girl could get on the outside, cannot believe her great misfortune.
However, as the sessions continue, the girls realize they have more in common than they once thought, and one thing in particular: neither are normal. Though Jazz has a tough exterior, Antonia is shocked to learn that she has a much softer side as an incredibly talented concert pianist. Antonia, who seems to have it all together, is falling apart inside. Her father left years ago, leaving her mother in a deep depression, from which she rarely emerges. This leaves Antonia to take care o the house, the food, and her two younger brothers, Michael and Chuckie.
As the counseling sessions continue, the girls slowly start to gain an understanding, until tragedy strikes. Antonia gets a call from her brother that they are stuck at motel and mom won’t come out of it. Antonia, with no way to reach them, has to call on the one person she never thought she would: Jazz. Jazz’s mother, whom Jazz despises, drives Antonia to her mother to get her siblings, drives her mother to the hospital, then offers to let all three kids stay at their home.
However a few days later, Mrs. Luther realizes she has to call social services, and Antonia and her brothers are placed in a foster home. Though the foster parents are nice, Antonia knows their real place is at home with their mother. Everything Antonia knows, even her and Jazz’s newfound friendship is called into question during this, the toughest time in her life, when things are anything but normal.
About Julie Anne Peters
Julie Anne Peters was born on January 16, 1952, in Jamestown, New York, but spent most of her childhood in Denver, Colorado. Her parents divorced when she was young. Peters really sees writing as a third career.
She spent a few years teaching fifth grade, until deciding that teaching was really not for her. She then went back to school to earn a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Management Science, until deciding that working with computers was also not for her. It was then that she started writing children's books.
She has written six books for ages 12 and up, six books for ages 9 and up and two books for ages 6 and up. She currently lives in Lakewood, Colorado.
Laura L. Johnson - Welcome! I am a secondary English teacher who also does freelance writing on the side. I currently teach at a small private school in the ...
