Annotation
From an exciting new voice comes a candid and witty look at feeling different and finding acceptance-beyond the rules.
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules-from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public!"-in order to head off his embarrassing behaviours. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
Awards
2007 Schneider Family Book Awards
2007 American Library Association Notable Books for Children
2008 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
2007-2008 Great Stone Face Children's Book Award
2007-2008 Maine Student Book Award
2008 Bluegrass Award
2008-2009 Great Lakes' Great Books Award
Characters
| Name | Catherine |
| Gender | Girl |
| Occupation | Student |
| Name | Jason |
| Gender | Male |
| Traits | Paraplegic |
| Wheelchair-bound | |
| Name | Kristi |
| Gender | Girl |
| Occupation | Student |
| Genre | Family Fiction Juvenile Psychological |
| Topics | Autism Brothers and sisters Identity Self-discovery Personal growth Friendship Neighbors Children with disabilities |