The Normal Kid

Holmes (Tracktown Summer), in her third middle-grade novel, explores what it means to be an outsider through two distinctive voices. Though 10-year-old Sylvan is mocked by his fellow fifth graders for participating in environmental protests with his hippie mother, he insists that he's nothing like the two indisputable weirdoes in his class, Charity and Brian. Charity, whose family of missionaries has just returned to New York from Kenya in defeat, now feels like a stranger in her home country%E2%80%94she doesn't wear the right clothes and doesn't say the right things. When class presentations and the threat of losing a supportive teacher bring together Sylvan, Charity, and Brian (a highly intelligent loner with Asperger's-like characteristics), they develop a connection that is built on the individuality that sets them apart. Holmes constructs a sturdy story that examines preconceptions and the sting of social rejection, combined with credible character development. Sylvan and Charity's alternating perspectives reveal how taking chances on friendships can broaden and enrich one's awareness of the world. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. Agent: Sarah Crowe, Harvey Klinger. (Oct.)