Ten Miles Past Normal

May 9, 2011
Making a confident move from middle-grade into YA, Dowell (Falling In) introduces readers to high school freshman Janie Gorman, a perky cool kid turned outcast. She encouraged her parents to move to a farm in North Carolina five years ago, but she now resents the change because her smelly farm chores, funky fashion sense, and her neo-hippie mother's blog keep her from fitting in ("hen I suggested we'd all be happier on a farm raising goats and baking bread, well, I'd meant it, but I didn't expect to be taken seriously"). Her friendship with her pushy best friend Sarah is feeling rocky, and as Janie slowly makes inroads with Verbena, a Sharpie-tattooed fellow outsider, and a musician named Monster, who unlocks her previously unknown musical talent, she begins to realize that coolness comes in many forms, and that being a wallflower isn't her style after all. "I'm the cute chick with the bass," she thinks. "Now that's a reputation I can live with." Janie's narration is sarcastic, contemplative, and sweet, which keeps this offbeat portrait of a tender age light yet believable. Ages 12âup.

High school freshman Janie Gorman wants what every teenager wants, to be normal and fit in with the high school crowd--an aim that was made impossible by her overly enthusiastic younger self when she convinced her parents to leave the city and move to a farm. Jessica Almasy reads Janie's words and thoughts in a bubbly teen voice, full of hope and excitement for the beginning of her high school years. Almasy also captures the sarcasm that Janie reserves for her mother, whose blog about life on the farm may very well be ruining Janie's social life. As the school year progresses, Janie begins to move out of her comfort zone, befriending a fellow cafeteria refugee named Verbena, whom Almasy portrays in a breathy, dreamy voice, and a bassist named "Monster," who is characterized by a Southern drawl. As time passes, Janie's new friends lead to her consider just how overrated "normal" might be. E.N. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

October 1, 2011
Gr 6–10—-Frances O'Roark Dowell's sometimes riotously funny, sometimes touchingly sweet coming-of-age story (Atheneum, 2011) absolutely sings in audio format. Jessica Almasy gives vibrant life to high school freshman Janie Gorman who is trying desperately to keep her life as "farm girl" separate from her life at school. However, when you live on a goat farm and have to help with the milking each morning, it's difficult to avoid humiliation. As the story progresses Almasy not only keeps listeners rooting for Janie, she also makes the cast of supporting characters very believable. We are introduced to bass playing "Monster," a larger than life character whose distinctive deep voice she perfectly captures. Almasy also does a fine job voicing Janie's well-intentioned "hippie blogger" mother, her politically minded best friend Sarah, and Sarah's wild sister Emma, just to mention a few. This is not your typical coming-of-age story, however, as there is a subplot in which Janie and her classmates discover the hero's in their very own town when they work on a local history school project and learn that two former civil rights activists are their neighbors. A rare listen that combines history with contemporary realistic fiction that will keep listeners riveted until the end.—"Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI"

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