Product Description

Now in its fourth hardcover printing, Define "Normal" has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon. This is a thoughtful, wry story about two girls-a "punk" and a "priss"-who find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program, and discover that they have some surprising things in common.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #259775 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 52
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this middle-school drama, two seeming opposites become friends and discover they are not such opposites after all. Peters (How Do You Spell G-E-E-K?) does little to update this well-trod theme, and while there are touching moments in her book, it's generally bland. Nerdy Antonia is assigned to peer-counsel Jazz, whom Antonia assumes is "hopeless. A punker. A druggie. A gang hanger." After a few agonizing sessions, Antonia begins to realize how much she needs someone to talk to. Her dad has split (as readers learn midway through), her mom's so depressed she can't get out of bed and Antonia's overwhelmed with responsibility and pain. Not only does Jazz literally intervene to get her family back on the road to recovery, but by offering her friendship, Antonia learns to depend on someone besides herself. In turn, she helps Jazz learn to talk to her parents and to compromise on arguments without compromising herself. They both learn that judging people by their outside appearance can be misleading. Occasionally, Peters captures a feeling perfectly, like Antonia's loneliness. "That's how I feel, I thought. Like a star...," she says, looking at the sky. "Distant. Detached. Blinking. On-off. On-off." Mostly, though, the exposition depends more on telling than showing. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-When Antonia is assigned to Jazz as a peer counselor, she figures there is no way she can help this tattooed, pierced, incorrigible girl. They are complete opposites. Antonia is a straight-A student whose parents are divorced and she is struggling to keep what's left of her family together as her mother battles depression. Jazz's family is wealthy and seemingly perfect. As they continue through the 15 hours of peer counseling, it becomes clear that both girls have issues they need to work through. They go from wary classmates to friends who support and help one another. As Antonia's mother is hospitalized for her depression, Jazz battles her own mother's need to control by quitting the one thing she loves most-playing classical piano. Both girls deal with their losses by finding new ways to look at their problems and to resume life as "normally" as possible. This believable book is well written and readers will feel that they know both Jazz and Antonia, and they will want to see them triumph over the frustrations in their lives.
Kimberly A. Ault, Lewisburg Area High School, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Antonia Dillon, a driven honor student at Oberon Middle School, is not surprised when she is asked to become a peer counselor. It's just another honor to add to her resume. But her first counseling session is pure culture shock--Antonia has been paired with the notorious Jasmine "Jazz" Luther, a punker with incredible attitude who uses black lipstick and is into body piercing and tattoos. As the two girls reluctantly continue their sessions, a strange, tentative friendship develops, with each girl gradually revealing more and more about her troubled life. Antonia admits that her divorced mother is deeply depressed and unable to work or care for her family; Jazz talks about her controlling, materialistic yuppie parents and their expectations. As secret after secret is exchanged, it becomes obvious that the "priss" and the punker are made to be best friends. Although the book is marred by one-dimensional secondary characters and a pat conclusion, girls will still enjoy the appealing main characters in this after-school-special-style friendship story. A quick, enjoyable read that will also attract reluctant readers. Jean Franklin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Fun read for preteens and informative about foster care, depression
My daughter read this at age 12, so I read it also and discussed it with her. It has a good discussion of a parent who is depressed and a positive view of (brief) foster care. The characters were funny and three-dimenstional. Recommended for preteens.

define "normal"
This is a great book for everyone. One of the messages it sends out is to look beneath the surface. Antonia and "jazz" seem to be totally different but in the end the realize that they aren't that different after all. They form an unbreakable friendship through all of their unfortunate adventures. It is probably a book for middle and high school students seeing as there are questions about the book for people who read the book to answer in the back. I loved this book because whether you are a "preppy", just "normal", or a "Punker" you can relate to the characters.

No one is ever alone when you start to look around...
Jazz and Antonia seperately found their on way to "fit in" at school, but they struggle to "fit in" to their own skin. Neither of these heroines really understands the full effect of what is happening to them in their lives, and, when they look at each other's difficulties, each realizes how much they could use a friend.

Poignant and driving. Any teen that feels alone in the world should read this story.