DELIVER US FROM NORMAL by Kate Klise
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  10/1/06
    Publisher:  Scholastic
    Reviewed by:  Allison Fraclose
    Rating:  5 Stars


    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.
Deliver Us From Normal
by Kate Klise