The Broadneck Library will be closed Monday, April 1 - Tuesday, April 16 for branch improvements. Please plan to pickup your holds at another location

The Riviera Beach Library is currently closed. For more information on the new location, please visit the Riviera Beach Library

Absolutely Normal Chaos
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
HarperCollins 2009
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Accelerated Reader:
IL: MG - BL: 4.7 - AR Pts: 7
Lexile measure:
840L
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description

"By turns sarcastic, tender, and irreverent, this will quickly make its way into the hands of readers who loved Walk Two Moons." —Kirkus

This beloved prequel to bestselling author Sharon Creech's Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons chronicles the life of a thirteen-year-old during her most chaotic and romantic summer ever via journal entries, filled with hilarious observations on love, death, and the confusing mechanics of holding hands.

Mary Lou is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller-coaster ride of all time.

Named one of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing!

Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Details
Street Date:
10/06/2009
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780061972430
ASIN:
B001MYJ3F6
Accelerated Reader:
MG
Level 4.7, 7 Points
Lexile measure:
840
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Sharon Creech. (2009). Absolutely Normal Chaos. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Sharon Creech. 2009. Absolutely Normal Chaos. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Sharon Creech, Absolutely Normal Chaos. HarperCollins, 2009.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Sharon Creech. Absolutely Normal Chaos. HarperCollins, 2009.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Anne Arundel County Public Library44
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
5c42ab2d-7a97-fe59-ca38-219293537136
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 03, 2017 08:20:32
Date Updated:
Sep 14, 2022 02:15:20
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 27, 2024 22:25:06
Last Metadata Change:
Mar 10, 2024 06:44:44
Last Availability Check:
Mar 27, 2024 22:25:07
Last Availability Change:
Mar 27, 2024 19:28:07
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 28, 2024 04:05:51

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061972430
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B001MYJ3F6
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061972430
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780064406321
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Sharon Creech
title
Absolutely Normal Chaos
dateAdded
2012-05-21T17:23:48.53Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=51&titleID=206952
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Maryland's Digital Library (MD)
          • id: 831
sortTitle
Absolutely Normal Chaos
crossRefId
206952
id
FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48
starRating
4.3

OverDrive MetaData

interestLevel
MG
isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: AbsolutelyNormalChao_9780061972430_206952
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 2888628
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061972430
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 1
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 10/6/2009
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-epub-adobe
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-410/0293-1/FCD/42C/A8/AbsolutelyNormalChaos9780061784583.epub
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: AbsolutelyNormalChao_206952
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B001MYJ3F6
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 10/6/2009
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-epub-adobe
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-410/0293-1/FCD/42C/A8/AbsolutelyNormalChaos9780061784583.epub
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: AbsolutelyNormalChao_9780061972430_206952
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061972430
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 10/6/2009
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-epub-adobe
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-410/0293-1/FCD/42C/A8/AbsolutelyNormalChaos9780061784583.epub
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: family
      • value: Adolescence
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Creech, Sharon
      • bioText:

        Sharon Creech has written twenty-one books for young people and is published in over twenty languages. Her books have received awards in both the U.S. and abroad, including the Newbery Medal for Walk Two Moons, the Newbery Honor for The Wanderer, and Great Britain's Carnegie Medal for Ruby Holler.

        Before beginning her writing career, Sharon Creech taught English for fifteen years in England and Switzerland. She and her husband now live in Maine, "lured there by our grandchildren," Creech says.

        www.sharoncreech.com

      • name: Sharon Creech
imprint
HarperCollins e-books
publishDate
2009-10-06T00:00:00-04:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Absolutely Normal Chaos
fullDescription

"By turns sarcastic, tender, and irreverent, this will quickly make its way into the hands of readers who loved Walk Two Moons." —Kirkus

This beloved prequel to bestselling author Sharon Creech's Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons chronicles the life of a thirteen-year-old during her most chaotic and romantic summer ever via journal entries, filled with hilarious observations on love, death, and the confusing mechanics of holding hands.

Mary Lou is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller-coaster ride of all time.

Named one of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing!

gradeLevels
      • value: Grade 3
      • value: Grade 4
      • value: Grade 5
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        October 2, 1995
        In what by now must be a subgenre in YA fiction-the novel cast as a journal written for an English assignment-Newbery Medalist Creech (Walk Two Moons) spins an affable if formulaic tale about one pivotal summer. Narrator Mary Lou, 13, the second of the five Finney children, is quite put out when she has to play maid for her uncommunicative cousin Carl Ray, 17, who comes to stay while he looks for a job. He gets one, to Mary Lou's surprise, at the hardware store owned by their new neighbor Mr. Furtz, who shortly afterward dies of a heart attack. Not only does Carl Ray remain in his new job, but an anonymous benefactor leaves him money-just like in Great Expectations, as Mary Lou points out. There the resemblance to Dickens ends: the astute reader will early on figure out the mystery behind Carl Ray's inheritance. Mary Lou is also slow to pick up clues about why her cute classmate Alex is always hanging around. Despite the occasionally creaky plot, Mary Lou's bouncy entries are still a lot of fun. Readers will enjoy her wry commentary on The Odyssey (on the school reading list), and girls especially will identify with Mary Lou's disgust at the giddy behavior of boy-crazy best friend Beth Ann and her own giggly rhapsodies on her first romance (``I am sooooo happeeeeee I can hardly stand it!''). Ages 10-14.

      • premium: True
      • source: School Library Journal
      • content:

        November 1, 1995
        Gr 6-9-Creech's newest story is told as a summer journal begrudgingly started as an English assignment. Mary Lou, 13, wonders if kisses with boys really taste like chicken; if her best friend will ever shut up about her new boyfriend; and how her visiting cousin, Carl Ray, can be such a silent clod, especially when someone has anonymously given him $5000. Later, when he is in a coma following a car accident, she rereads her journal and wonders how she could have been so unseeing. Mary Lou is a typical teen whose acquaintance with the sadder parts of life is cushioned by a warm and energetic family. Her entertaining musings on Homer, Shakespeare, and Robert Frost are drawn in nifty parallels to what is happening in her own life. When forbidden by her mother to say "God," "stupid," and "stuff," she makes a trek to the thesaurus to create some innovative interjections. Creech's dialogue is right on target. Her characterization is nicely done also. By comparison, this book is differently voiced than Walk Two Moons (HarperCollins, 1994), lacks that book's masterful imagery, and is more superficial in theme; but appropriately so. Creech has remained true to Mary Lou, who is a different narrator, and one who will win many fans of her own. Those in search of a light, humorous read will find it; those in search of something a little deeper will also be rewarded.-Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        October 1, 1995
        Gr. 5^-8. Mary Lou Finney is an absolutely normal 13-year-old living in a delightfully normal--albeit rather large--family during an absurdly normal summer of growing up. The assignment to keep a journal during this summer vacation allows Mary Lou the privilege of documenting for other absolutely normal middle-graders the roller coaster process of adolescence--the evolution of friendships, the first kiss, even the gradual understanding and appreciation of people different from themselves. Creech's easy style and skill at writing dialogue are evident throughout. Some of the journal entries concerning Mary Lou's interpretation of her summer reading assignment, "The Odyssey," may be a stretch for many in the targeted age group, but the chaotic adolescent emotions emanating from each entry are real. "Absolutely Normal Chaos" is absolutely normal 13-year-old angst and will probably have a much wider readership than "Walk Two Moons" (1994). ((Reviewed Oct. 1, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)

popularity
264
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L2BaQAAAOQCAAA1L/products/fcd42ca8-c091-4535-ae66-97778590ce48/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
fcd42ca8-c091-4535-ae66-97778590ce48
starRating
4.3
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/{FCD42CA8-C091-4535-AE66-97778590CE48}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Juvenile Fiction
      • value: Juvenile Literature
publishDateText
10/06/2009
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780064406321
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription

"By turns sarcastic, tender, and irreverent, this will quickly make its way into the hands of readers who loved Walk Two Moons." —Kirkus

This beloved prequel to bestselling author Sharon Creech's Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons chronicles the life of a thirteen-year-old during her most chaotic and romantic summer ever via journal entries, filled with hilarious observations on love, death, and the confusing mechanics of holding hands.

Mary Lou is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller-coaster ride of all time.

Named one of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing!

sortTitle
Absolutely Normal Chaos
lexileScore
840
crossRefId
206952
publisher
HarperCollins
atos
4.7
bisacCodes
      • code: JUV013000
      • description: Juvenile Fiction / Family / General
      • code: JUV039020
      • description: JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Adolescence & Coming of Age