About the Book
A boy and his family find out whether fame and fortune are all they're cracked up to be in this sequel to DELIVER US FROM NORMAL.
When we last left Charles Harrisong and his family, they were drifting in a houseboat off the coast of Alabama. But their direction shifts abruptly when Charles's book about their decision to leave Normal, IL, gets made into a major motion picture, catapulting the Harrisongs to instant fame. And when the superstore Bargain Bonanza debuts a clothing line based on the family called Normalwear, Charles and his family's lives go from their not-so-normal houseboat to a penthouse apartment and their own reality TV show.
About the Author :
Kate Klise's previous books, created with her sister, illustrator M. Sarah Klise, have won numerous awards, including the California Young Readers Medal. Deliver Us From Normal, the touching story about an eleven-year-old boy growing up in family that to him feels anything but normal, is her first solo novel and a departure from the more whimsical graphic novels she creates with her sister.
Deliver Us From Normal came about because Kate wanted to write a more serious novel about a big, beautifully chaotic family. The older I get, the more I appreciate the idea of being thrown together with a group of people you might have a lot in common with, or nothing at all, she says. You don't have the option of doing anything other than making your family relationships workforever. I like that. I like that there's no love as fierce as the love you feel for your family; that there's no one you feel more protective of than the very same people who can drive you crazy.
Kate chose a male narrator because she felt it freed her to be more emotionally honest. Writing from Charles's point-of-view made it clear from the beginning that while this is a very personal story, it isn't only my story, she says. I hope it touches on something more universal: the idea of growing up and finding your own personal truth in the world.
In addition to writing books for young readers, Kate also works as a correspondent for People magazine. Her recent assignments have included stories about Brad Pitt, Nelly, and the BTK serial killer in Wichita.
Kate Klise lives and writes on her 40-acre farm in a valley just north of Norwood, Missouri.
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Review :
Kikrus
Life takes the closely knit Harrisong clan, first introduced in Deliver Us From Normal (2005), about
as far from normal as it's possible to get in this wild sequel set three years later. Glum teenage narrator
Charles realizes a dream when he sells an article about his family's earlier experiences to a magazine.
However, the dream turns nightmarish when lawyers descend, first threatening to sue over his
disparaging picture of the Bargain Bonanza chain store, then suddenly changing their tune and
railroading the panicked Harrisongs into agreeing to front a new line of NormalWear and other shoddy
products. Instant sensations, the junky goods propel the Harrisongs into international celebrity, whisking
them from their rickety houseboat, the S.S. O'Migosh, to a penthouse condo and a whirl of limos and
photo shoots. It all looks glamorous at first, but the Harrisongs soon discover a seamier side to contract
slavery. Complicated by suddenly locked doors and trumped-up accusations of child abuse, they contrive
a baroque, unlikely but satisfyingly successful escape. Readers will be pleased to see this simple, loving
family weather the perils of almost comically exaggerated success to land on its feet. (Fiction. 11-13)
HB
At the end of the first novel about Charles and his family (Deliver Us from Normal, rev. 7/05), the Harrisongs move to a decrepit houseboat; this sequel picks up two years later. Through an article Charles writes about their experience living on the boat, the Walmart-esque Bargain Bonanza chain blackmails the family into becoming their spokesfamily. The Harrisongs move into a penthouse supplied with all Bargain Bonanza items, from clothing to food, and are paid in Bargain Buckeroos. As the their fame increases, so does the stress on each family member, but for
sensitive fourteen-year-old Charles the humiliation is especially exquisite, as he is the spokesman for Cowboy Chaz laxatives. In Charles's agonized yet very funny narration, Kline displays again both her grasp of family relationships and her sharp wit, particularly in creating the tension between the Harrisongs' life of luxury (with limo rides and drawers full of cash) and its underlying worthlessness (since they are living in servitude, and the cash has a picture of Cowboy Cal in the middle). The fast-moving plot is entertaining but may also prompt some serious discussion. S.D.L.
Booklist
In this quirky sequel to Deliver Us From Normal (2005), precocious 14-year-old Charles Harrisong sells an article to a national magazine describing his working class family's flight from Normal, Illinois, to escape small-town prejudice and live an atypical life aboard a houseboat. The article comes under the scrutiny of superstore Bargain Bonanza, which threatens to sue because of Charles has maligned its clothing in print. The chain agrees to drop the issue if the Harrisongs will promote their new Normal brand of sportswear, power tools, and laxatives. Though they are given a rent-free Dallas penthouse and all the Bonanza Bucks they can spend, the Harrisongs are unhappy, and they quickly hatch a daring plan to escape the reality television show that has become their life. Riffing on commercialism and the cult of celebrity, Klise's narrative often feels contrived and over the top, but middle-school students who enjoyed the first novel will appreciate this sequel, with an offbeat humor reminiscent of Gordon Korman and David Lubar. Jennifer Hubert
SLJ
In this sequel to Deliver Us from Normal (Scholastic, 2005), the Harrisongs continue their financial and domestic struggles. Charles, 14, writes an article about his family that gets published in a magazine through chance connections. He then gets sued by Bargain Bonanza, a discount conglomerate, for defamation. As a result of the legal ba"
