Waiting for Normal

Every story has bad guy, an enemy. Chains has slave-owners; The Boy Who Dared has Hitler; Found has time-travelers; Schooled has bullies; The Alchemyst has Dr. John Dee and the Dark Elders; and in 11 Birthdays the main character's worst enemy was herself though she thought it was her former best friend. Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor also has a bad guy, unfortunately, it is the main character's own mother.

Twelve-year-old Addie calls her mother "Mommers" which sounds cutesy, babyish and affectionate. Her mother, Denise, does not deserve such a term of endearment. I am grateful that I am not required to like this character. And my mind keeps telling me, especially as we draw nearer to Mother's Day, that mothers provide unconditional love and should receive it back. I absolutely detested Mommers because she just doesn't understand LOVE.

Addie belongs to Mommers and Mommers alone. Addie never knew her father and he was probably never truly in the picture to begin with. Mommers married Dwight and he is the best thing that ever happened to the two. Addie loves her step-dad. Mommers and Dwight have two more daughters together and Addie loves them dearly and takes good care of them. Dwight sure tried to make it work. Unfortunately, Dwight's line of work takes him away from home for extended periods of time. During one of these absences, Mommers up and leaves too and Addie stays home to care for two babies by herself for several days. That's the end of "close to normal."

Dwight and Mommers divorce and Dwight receives custody of the two babies, but he cannot have Addie unless Mommers willingly gives up her rights. And she will NOT. Dwight still goes out of his way to help the two because he loves Addie so much. He really wants her for his own. Instead, he buys them a trailer in Schenectady and sends monthly alimony checks. He also checks in on Addie and makes sure the sisters get to see each other periodically.

Addie quickly makes friends in the community. The local convenience store is run by Elliot and Soula, and they genuinely like Addie and welcome her into their lives. Soula is undergoing chemotherapy and often doesn't feel well, but she always likes to have a laugh. Elliot is Soula's co-worker and, in a way, her care provider. Elliot has a boyfriend Rick who runs the local diner, another place where Addie feels acceptance, importance and love. Then there are her friends at school and the stage orchestra where Addie plays the flute. So when Mommers starts disappearing for days at a time again, Addie manages by spending time with her friends.

As I mentioned above, there is a gay relationship in this book, but it is not sensationalized or moralized. It's just a fact of life and only appears in one chapter where the relationship is revealed. Rick writes a letter to leave for the love of his life - Elliot. Addie is confused because she thought Elliot was Soula's boyfriend. Worse, is Mommers behavior. She finds a new boss, but a better word would be boyfriend. When she disappears, she is with the boyfriend - Pete. We never - Addie never meets Pete. Pete is unaware of Mommers' family. Mommers eventually tells Addie that things will change when Pete finds out about "the baby". Yes, Mommers is really good at having babies, but she has no idea how to take care of them and provide for them.

This book was especially hard for me to read because I see these kinds of families most everyday. Kids taking care of younger siblings because the parents are out of the picture most of the time. We have kids who will spend an entire day at the library on the computers. They won't even leave for lunch or a snack. When it is time to go home, they call their parents to come pick them up, and the parents tell them they can walk home. Even if it's 9pm on a school night. It's also not unusual for some of these kids to turn into toublemakers. Addie is not a troublemaker.

Addie is an amazing girl who gets along so she can get along. She makes dinner for her and her mother. She makes sure there is food in the pantry. She cleans up after herself. She makes sure she gets to school on time. She works extremely hard to learn her flute music so she won't let down her fellow musicians and teacher. And she doesn't want anyone to worry about her. She feels that Mommers needs someone and since Addie is hers and hers alone, it is Addie's responsibility to stick it out with Mommers. Even when Mommers ditches her for Christmas to go sleigh-riding with Pete! Detestable.

The hardest part is occasionally she gets to spend time with Dwight and her sisters. And Dwight has met and fell in love with a wonderful woman. As Addie's life gets worse, theirs gets increasingly better. What should be a positive thing becomes a painful thing. All Addie wants is to be a part of "normal". Don't we all?