Absolutely Normal Chaos By: Sharon Creech Publisher: Harper Trophy Copyright: 1990 Genre: Fiction Report By: Alyssa Ciccarelli

Sharon Creech Sharon Creech was born on July 29, 1945 in South Euclid, Ohio. She was born to Ann and Arvel. Sharon said her house was noisy with three brothers: Dennis, Doug, Tom, and a sister Maggie, plus, relatives that often visited her house. Her large family took many trips and you can tell that traveling was one of her parents shared hobbies. When Sharon was growing up she wanted to be many things: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. She attended Hiram College in Ohio and George University in Virginia. She currently lives in Pennington, New Jersey. She became an author because she was inspired by the love of good stories. Sharon has achieved many awards: Newbery Medals and Newberry honors for many of her great books. As you can see, Sharon is one talented author East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022

Interest Level and Reading Level: Ages 9 and up would be interested in reading this book. The reading level is V. It is easy to read for a 6 th grader.

Theme: The theme of the book is how an apple can be soft in one spot and hard in another. Mary Lou wasn’t expecting this summer to be as packed as it really was. Getting to know Carl Ray and all was hard, but getting to know your own self is even harder.

Overview: Absolutely Normal Chaos lives up to its name. An entire summer is documented in Mary Lou’s diary. Mary Lou captures how she herself changes by recording her entire summer. She includes when her cousin, Carl Ray comes to live with her family to find his father, her neighbor dies out of the blue and she cannot believe that she fell in love with Alex Cheevey.

Problem and Solution: There are many problems being faced by the characters. The biggest surprise of them all is that Carl Ray has an ulterior motive. He wants to find his “real” father. The problem Mary Lou is facing is that she does not want to admit to herself that she is falling in love. Also, dealing with the death of her neighbor, who is actually Carl Ray’s “real” father has caused heartache in the family.

Setting and Point of View: The story takes place at the Finney house, the pool, and Carl Ray’s house, but it is told by Mary Lou through her journal over the summer.

Characters: Mary Lou Finney- quiet and gentle because she doesn’t yell and scream Maggie Finney- a girly girl and outgoing because she tells every one what is going on in her life Doug Finney- curious, even though he was hardly mentioned in her journal, he asked a lot of questions Dennis Finney- questioning, just like Doug, he questions people Tommy Finney- wondrous, just like Doug and Dennis too Alex Cheevey- soft and careful because he doesn’t talk all of the time Beth Ann- definitely outgoing, girly, and brags a little, she was so full of herself for having a boyfriend named Derrick the Diviine Carl Ray- silent and promising, he never really spoke to the family, but when he went to his house in West Virginia with Mary Lou after his “real” father died, you would think again.

Discussion Questions: ●Why is it so important for Carl Ray to find his birth father? ●How come Mary Lou Finney didn’t want Mr. Birkway to see her journal, prologue and in the origin? ●Why did Mary Lou Finney not want to watch herself fall in love, but could handle watching her friend love somebody? ●Why was it so important for Mary Lou to write every little detail in her journal?

If you liked this book, you’ll love… Walk Two Moons because in this story a girl wants to find her mother, a little like Carl Ray Replay because the main character has noisy family as well Love that Dog because it is a journal too