Absolutely normal chaos

This realistic fiction is in the form of a journal. Mary Lou Finney's gets an assignment from a teacher at school. She is reluctant at first but then writing in the journal becomes a joy. She writes about a funny adventure of her family and her mysterious cousin Carl Ray who comes to stay with at

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her house. At first she does not want him to stay at their home because he stays in her room, he eats too much and he stinks. She describes her friend, Beth Ann Bartels who is very interested in boys. When Beth Ann starts dating and does not share the details she feels lonely and jealous. Then she finds herself crushing on Alex Chevy. While watching her brothers, Mary Lou starts talking with Alex. The adventure includes drama about death and family. The mystery of Carl Ray and why he is staying with Mary Lou’s family unfolds throughout her journal.
This book is a good example of a journal. It contains all the elements of realistic fiction. Every entry is a page turner. The mystery of Carl Ray and what will happen with Alex and her friend Beth Ann could really happen. The portrayal of the differences between lower middle class suburban lifestyle in Mary Lou’s family and deep poverty lifestyle in Carl Ray’s would be a good topic to discuss in the classroom.
In the classroom this could be used to help students get started on a journal. In the classroom I would let the students use this book in a literature circle. I would let the students select between this example of a journal and others. This book is from a female perspective so it may not appeal to males. The author’s story about Carl Ray may bridge the gap to help males relate to the story.

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Not my favorite SC book, but not bad. Writer's voice (13 year old girl keeping a journal) was believable. Quite slow to start, but revved up considerably at the end (parallel to her summer reading of the Odyssey--a bit heavy handed, but age approp).

Another I noted after reading an exerpt in 33 Things Every Girl Show Know, but this one I enjoyed immensely. An easy read due to the young adult audience. It brought me back to my youth and the thrills of the first kiss, the first hand-holding, the first love. The family goings on also entertained.

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I would recommend this to any young girls and/or their moms.

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This was one of my favorite novels as a young teen. Creech is a very truthful writer, never talking down to her audience or making unfair presumptions - she seems to be one of the few writers who really remembers what it feels like to be young. The family drama is hilariously, tragically,

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relatable. The main character (a strong young girl) writes about her growing sexuality achingly honestly - unsure of herself, but unwilling to make judgment or censure. I'd recommend this to any young teen, especially a young woman. It's an older book, but in no way outdated. The relationship discussed is heterosexual, so a good pairing would be "Annie On My Mind" or "Boy Meets Boy".

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Mary Lou Finney has an assignment to keep a journal over the summer and she thinks it's boring! But her summer turns out to be a turning point in her life and is anything BUT boring! In the end, we are never told whether or not the teacher reads, the journal, but we readers get to read it, and it's

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a privilege! I really enjoyed this cute, funny little story.

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Mary Lou is plunged into the world of teenagerhood, and gets an unexpected boyfriend.

I listened to this one and just laughed and laughed. Very enjoyable though it might feel old-fashioned to kids (a bit like a Paula Danziger novel - both in style and old-fashionedness).

I picked up this book because when I was younger I read Walk Two Moons by this author and I absolutely loved it. It meant so much to me. So I thought this book would do the same thing! While I did enjoy the plot, it wasn't what I thought it would be. It was definately entertaining, humorous, and

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enjoyable. But I was looking for that moment where I was in awe, and this book just didn't do it for me! Maybe I shouldn't have put so much pressure on it!

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Sharon Creech introduced us to Mary Lou Finney as a classmate of Sal Hiddle in her Newbury-award-winning novel, Walk Two Moons. In this follow-up, Absolutely Normal Chaos, we get to see more into the life of Miss Mary Lou, and what a life it is! Mary Lou’s thirteenth summer turns out to be one of

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the most exciting, confusing, and crazy times of her entire life, and teenagers will definitely be able to relate. There’s Alex Cheevey, “whose skin is always a little pink”; her boy-crazy best friend, Beth Ann; and then there’s her taciturn, “cabbage-headed” cousin, Carl Ray, who turns out to have the most exciting, confusing, and crazy story of all. The novel is told from Mary Lou’s journal, where she documents the constant turbulence of adolescence. Creech’s teenage voice is spot on, even with the dated slang.
What I liked best about this book was how normal everything was. There are no vampires, werewolves, or angelic halfmen cluttering up the story, just the absolute gushing of a teenage girl experiencing her first romance. Mary Lou’s relationship with Alex Cheevey is described as a series of confusing moments of soaring delight and soul-crushing lows, but you can always sense Creech’s empathy for her characters; she isn’t laughing at teens, she’s identifying with them. For example, the first time Alex holds Mary Lou’s hand, she is silently dying inside, not sure if she is behaving how she should with a boy. Mary Lou also has to put up with large family, who are rumply and lovable, but also exasperating for a teenage girl. But it is Carl Ray, who shows up one day and forgets to make the bed, who lends this story its heart. Mary Lou’s slowly burgeoning relationship with her gawky cousin gently teaches her that there is more to life than cliques and boyfriends. Carl Ray’s character is slowly, beautifully revealed throughout the book, and is the perfect complement to Mary Lou’s warmth and outgoing nature.
This book is at times laugh-out-loud funny, and at times heartbreaking, but it is always full of good, old-fashioned human goodness. No vampires required. For grades 6 and up.

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This is a lovely, delicate, heartwarming coming of age story. I loved it!

What begins as a boring school assignment to write a journal quickly turns into an epic account of Mary Lou Finney's summer. Her teenage cousin Carl Ray's arrival sets off a chain of events that make this summer much more eventful than she ever anticipated. Though the book was originally published

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in 1990, readers will still identify with Mary Lou's experiences and emotions (frustrations! excitement! confusion!) as she navigates life as a 13-year-old. Readers from large families may recognize aspects of their own homes in Mary Lou's story, or -- for only children, such as myself -- may appreciate insight into the hilarious chaos of the large Finney family.

Mary Lou is a minor character in Creech's previous novel, Walk Two Moons. For tweens who loved that book and demand more like it, Absolutely Normal Chaos provides another view into those characters' world through Mary Lou and her family and friends.

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Plus another bit of a star. Perfect for a sleepless night and a rainy day. Love all the different voices.

A good juvenile book; very entertaining. However, just getting back from beach camp with my church, I was bothered by all of the uses of the Lord's name out of context.

Not a prequel, not a sequel, just set in the same world as Walk Two Moons. Both totally stand alone. I think I liked this one better because it wasn't quite so implausibly melodramatic. Still has the same theme of empathy, of the value of getting to know someone before judging them.

A prequel to the 1995 Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons. Absolutely Normal Chaos chronicles the daily life of 13-year-old Mary Lou Finney during her most chaotic and romantic summer ever.

Mary Lou Finney is assigned to keep a journal during the summer vacation, and boy does she. We follow multiple story lines in her life. Her best friend Beth Ann, who is boy-crazy and a bit immature, goes back and forth between two boys, and longs to be a part of the in-clique. Mary Lou herself

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experiences her own first love, with non-talkative Alex Cheevey. She toils through reading The Odyssey, and provides her often amusing commentary on that epic. The main line is the story of her cousin, Carl Ray, who comes to live with the Finney's for the summer, "so he can find a job." At first Carl Ray is an appalling guest in the home. Unhelpful, unresponsive, and while not necessarily rude or mean - certainly not friendly. But as Mary Lou's journal moves along, we (and she) learn more and more about Carl Ray, and there is more to him than initially meets the eye.

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Plus another bit of a star. Perfect for a sleepless night and a rainy day. Love all the different voices.

An easy, and mostly enjoyable read. As someone who did a good amount of journaling around the same age the protagonist does I thought the author did a good job capturing the way a young teenager would write. I went with two stars because while I didnt have any big issues with the book, its also not

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one of my favorites. Its ok, and if you are doing a read thru of Sharon Creech's books (like I am at the moment) its worth including, but on its own it doesnt stand up as well.

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