Turrisi, Kim Just a Normal Tuesday, 244 pages. Kids Can Press, 2017. $18.
Language: R (50+ swears, 20 ‘f’); Violence: PG-13 (suicide); Mature
Content: R (drugs and alcohol; implied sex)
Until Kai comes home and opens the mail, the day is just
Tuesday. But forevermore it will be the
day that Kai’s beloved older sister committed suicide and there was nothing Kai
could have done to prevent it. As she
and her parents try to process their grief, Kai descends into chaos and
self-flagellation. In a desperate ploy
to help their struggling daughter, the parents send to her a grief camp. There Kai will hopefully find her feet in this
new, unwanted, normal.
Turrisi’s look at Kai grief is raw and wonderful. The camp is a month long and I had to allow
for something looking as is they happened quickly because of the limitations of
space and pages. I wish, however, that
Turrisi had concentrated on Kai’s journey towards healing without oh so
conveniently falling in “forever” love with another camper. That just added a trite element to the
story, no matter how hard Turrisi strived to make it feel authentic. High school students will be able to process
and use this lovely book the best.
HS – OPTIONAL. Cindy,
Library Teacher
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