He was always so normal! Todd Farrel attends tiny St. Luke's Episcopal School in rural New England. Each year the sixth graders finish winter term with their big social studies reports. Wanting to
The Horn Book Guide
"Brown manages to inject plenty of classroom quirks, soccer antics, and even budding romance to keep the book rooted in reality. Recommended."
VOYA
"Todd Farrel is a normal sixth grader, and it frustrates him. He is average at swimming, piano, soccer, and writing, but he wants to be extraordinary. When his homeroom teacher, Mr. Phillips, assigns the end-of-term paper, Todd chooses mystical experiences as his topic, and he is determined to have one of his own. But no one can force a mystical experience to happen, not even Todd, and it takes a traumatic event in the life of his best friend Nitro for Todd to be able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary."
Booklist
"A quiet, meaningful first novel."
Publishers Weekly
"Brown's debut novel serves up some dynamic kid characters . . . and stirs up some thought-provoking issues for them to consider."
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Devin Brown, a professor of literature at Asbury College, lives with his family in Lexington, Kentucky. Not Exactly Normal combines several of his own major interests: philosophy, sports, history, religion, and literature. He says that the most fun aspect of writing this book was developing the unusual superheroes that Todd Farrel creates for his art project. This is his first published novel.
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