Halfway Normal

About the Book:

Norah Levy has just completed two years of treatment for leukemia and is ready to go back to the “real world” of middle school. She knows it’ll be tricky–but like the Greek mythological characters she read about while she was sick, Norah’s up for any challenge.

But seventh grade turns out to be trickier than she thought. Norah’s classmates don’t know what to make of her. Her best friend, Harper, tries to be there for her, but she doesn’t get it, really—and is hanging out with a new group of girls. Norah’s other good friend, Silas, is avoiding her. What’s that about, anyway?

When Norah is placed with the eighth graders for math and science she meets Griffin, a cute boy who encourages her love of Greek mythology and art. And Norah decides not to tell him her secret—that she was “that girl” who had cancer. But when something happens to make secret-keeping impossible, Norah must figure out a way to share her cancer story.

But how do you explain something to others that you can’t explain to yourself? Can Norah take her cue from her favorite Greek myth? And then, once she finds the words, can she move forward with a whole new ‘normal’?

Honors & Lists:

• A Junior Library Guild selection
• 2018 Vermont State Dorothy Canfield Fisher list
• 2018-2019 Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Secondary Book Award, Middle School
• 2019-2020 Finalist for the Missouri Association of School Librarians Mark Twain Reader Award
• 2019-2020 Maryland Association of School Librarians Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee, Grades 6-9
• Kansas NEA Reading Circle List Junior Title
• Wisconsin State Reading Association’s Reading List
•  2019-2020 South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee
• CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2018
• Booklist: Surviving Middle School
• 2018 ILA Young Adults Choices Reading List
•  Starred Reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal
• “Best New Books for Tweens and Preteens”—TheChildren’sBookReview.com
• SLJ: 16 Novels with Tween Appeal—School Library Journal
• Pernille Ripp: My Favorite Chapter Books of 2017
• ALSC Tough Topics Booklist

Press:

• Cover reveal on Nerdy Book Club
• Booklist: Surviving Middle School 
• Booklist: Tough Topics