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| Plot Summary of Deliver Us From Normal |
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"The Harrisong family lives in Normal, Illinois—but this loveably quirky family still has a hard time fitting in. Mr. and Mrs. Harrisong are financially challenged but rich in good intentions. While struggling to make ends meet, their homemade dresses and gaudy bargain-bin gift-wrap inadvertently provides the five Harrisong kids with plenty to blush about. Luckily, Clara, a 12-year-old budding artist, is too confidently optimistic to notice, and 8-year-old Ben is too much of a comedian to care. 6-year-old Laura and 4-year-old Sally are simply too young to understand shame—but 11-year-old Charles is a bundle of raw nerves, and his family has a knack for getting under his skin. Charles manages the embarrassment by talking to God, organizing his fears into lists, and reading.
But sixth grade thrusts Charles into a whole new world of worry: junior high. The new school overwhelms even his best defense mechanisms, and Charles becomes increasingly self-conscious and withdrawn. Reading Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" prompts two significant reactions: empathy with the oddball Boo Radley and fear that he can relate to Boo a little too well. As summer slides into autumn, Charles increasingly finds himself flooded with conflicting emotions—particularly where his family is concerned—and haunted by horrible thoughts and impulses that contradict his gentle words and deeds.
Unfortunately, Clara's campaign for 7th Grade Class President inspires a wave of middle-school meanness that only intensifies the Harrisongs' vain struggle to be a normal family in Normal, Illinois. After a particularly ugly incident that Klise never fully discloses, the Harrisong family flees Normal in the middle of the night to start a new life on a rundown houseboat in Alabama. When the boat springs a leak, Charles is forced to shed shyness and fear for the sake of his family's safety. In doing so, he develops a better understanding of his family, his self, and his place in the world.
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Tracie Amirante, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Deliver Us From Normal |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- humorous
Time/era of story
- present (2000-2010)
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Kids:
- religious influences
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Age 11-14
Age group of kid(s) in story:
- grade school
Something wrong upstairs/downstairs?
- searching for identity/meaning
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a kid
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
Age:
- a kid
Profession/status:
- student
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
- Midwest
Water?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Kate Klise Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Tracie Amirante
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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