Deliver Us from Normal

Charles Harrisong may live in Normal, Illinois, but he knows his family is anything but. They practically live at Bargain Bonanza, and they're the only family in town who rents a home with no air conditioning. They're loud, and do everything together, and cause a scene wherever they go. Then, there's just him, Charles, who makes lists and sublists of "The Most Embarrassing Things in (his) Life," such as his horrible summer at scout camp and "The Yearling" incident at school. With his unique ability to feel the hidden meaning behind peoples' actions, Charles can't escape what other people think. All he prays for is for his family to be normal. When his older sister's attempts to run for president of her class end with disastrous results, the Harrisong parents decide that they have had enough of their unforgiving town. After some quick decisions, they drag Charles and his four siblings away from Normal in the middle of the night on a quest to purchase a cheap houseboat docked in Alabama. As they leave the city limits, Charles offers up a new prayer to God to "deliver us from Normal. Get us out of here. Thank you." Can the Harrisong family make it, or will this houseboat thing just be another horrible mistake? Klise offers a refreshing voice in the young, shy Charles, and a hilarious look at a family who maintains a close bond throughout much tribulation. Layered with meaning, this masterful work will touch anyone who has survived their own, abnormal family. Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

I loved this book!!! In a true coming of age during the tempetous time of middle school, this book shows the way. Deliver Us from Normal shows the difficulties of fitting in with the popular kids, and explores the realities of family and growing up while staying true to yourself. The family dynamics ring true to life, from the inadvertently protective mother to the tries ever so hard father. The main character, Charles, brings out the self-conscious introvert lurking inside all of us. Charles is so thoughtful and sweet, you want to bundle him up and take him home with you. The writing flows well and is easy to understand. Super book!

This was excellent. This clever tale about coming to terms with personal identity and communal identity (in this case familial) was a treat. Charles was an interesting character with a witty but serious take on life that learns in the most abnormal of situations to embrace himself and his family and to see their beauty. The characters and situations were very vivid and despite the abnormal quality of Charles family and there situation readers will identity with feelings of outcast and loneliness. I particularly enjoyed the Clara and the use of To Kill a Mockingbird in this story. Excellent pick. The only reason this doesn't earn a five are some of the cohesion problems in the plot.

Ok, so I just read Deliver Us From Normal from start to finish without a break. And here is what you need to know more than anything else - this book is NOT just for children. This is a book for everyone who had enough self-awareness when they were a kid to realize that growing up is a struggle. If you ever felt awkward, alienated, or just plain different when you were young, you will find a kindred spirit in Kate Klise's Charles Harrisong. If you ever got to the point at which you just wanted to pack up and leave for somewhere else, -anywhere as long as it is different from where you woke up today, but never did - you will want to follow along with the Harrisong family on their journey from Normal to something better than normal. Your kids should definitely read this book - but you should too. Be like the Harrisongs and do embarrassingly wonderful things as a family - like reading together. P.S. After I finished Deliver Us From Normal, I walked down to my local bookstore, and moved a couple of copies from the children's section to fiction and literature.

What is normal, anyway? Kate Klise's book Deliver Us from Normal is an intriguing, adolescent view on what normal is and why it is so important to children and teenagers. Klise uses the perspective of a twelve year old boy who lives with his four other siblings and his parents in Normal, Illinois. The author provides readers with a glimpse into the life of a lower middle class family who, when it's all said and done, realize that not being "normal" really isn't that bad. Charlie is a twelve year old boy with three sisters and a brother with whom he gets along surprisingly well. Mature for his age, Charlie gets picked on in school and ridiculed because of his family's financial status. Everything embarrasses him: his body, his family, his clothes and his house with its weird, spooky bushes. All his life Charlie has wanted to "BE NORMAL". When his family decides, on the spur of the moment, to leave their rented house and travel to Alabama he realizes his chances at being normal are over. His parents purchase a houseboat, sight unseen, and it turns out to be a real Junker. The whole family works on restoring it, getting it livable in less than a week. They set out to sail anywhere and everywhere and somewhere along the way Charlie realizes that perhaps being normal isn't all its cracked up to be. Klise tells an enlightening tale of self discovery and adolescence, of the importance of family and confidence. Portraying circumstances that young readers will be able to relate to, she gets her point across that just being yourself is all that matters. As the main character puts it, "...everything was possible. Anything could happen. Because [they] had been delivered from normal." Recommended for ages 9-12. [...]