Sure Sign of Crazy
Her mother tried to kill her in the kitchen sink when she was two. Her twin brother was not so lucky that day and later after the trials, her mother was found insane and institutionalized. Now at the age of twelve, Sarah gets cards twice a year from her mother and what she know of her mom, comes from brief edited stories. Sarah wonders if she has her mom’s genes as life becomes complicated and confusing. She talks to her deceased brother often and wonders what her life would be like if her family was normal. Living with her drunk father, Sarah manages. Sarah is witty and smart for a twelve-year old and reading her thoughts and feelings, there are times I found myself laughing and smiling at the things that she says and does. An end-of-school-year assignment has Sarah writing letters to her favorite author, Mr. Atticus. This assignment has Sarah opening up her mind and her feeling and finally putting them down on paper. Her thoughts on boys, her family and her life in general are finally brought to light and I think that help Sarah. Her new babysitter Charlotte and Charlotte’s brother Finn light up Sarah’s summer vacation. Charlotte helps Sarah discover her feminine side and Finn, his relationship with Sarah was the best part of this book, at least I thought so. This is truly a wonderful book; the book cover does not do it justice.
Sarah is a work junkie; she loves words so throughout the book you find words and definitions. She likes to come across new words and try to include them in her vocabulary just another reason to love Sarah. Sarah is so confused and after reading a bit about her, you understand why. Her father is a professor and he is hurting over the loss of his wife and son, so he takes to the bottle. Any mention of the previous incident has Sarah and her father, running. Sometimes that means moving to a new home so the neighbors don’t know their previous history. It’s like it never happened. Sarah has no close friends to talk to. When Charlotte shows up I thought it would be a match but things did not pan out how I expected. Charlotte did show her a few things, good and bad. Her relationship with Finn, oh how I loved Finn. What a great guy and the hats- how fun was that. He was such a relaxing and comfortable character, someone Sarah needed. His love of words, made Sarah feel comfortable in her own skin. So many great parts and characters in this book, I could go on but I don’t want to spoil it. Discovering your own self worth, friendship, love, family, growing up and just being yourself, these are just several themes of what’s awaiting inside these pages.
Great book for middle schoolers.
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