Ten Miles Past Normal

Gr 6—10—Frances O'Roark Dowell's sometimes riotously funny, sometimes touchingly sweet coming-of-age story (Atheneum, 2011) absolutely sings in audio format. Jessica Almasy gives vibrant life to high school freshman Janie Gorman who is trying desperately to keep her life as "farm girl" separate from her life at school. However, when you live on a goat farm and have to help with the milking each morning, it's difficult to avoid humiliation. As the story progresses Almasy not only keeps listeners rooting for Janie, she also makes the cast of supporting characters very believable. We are introduced to bass playing "Monster," a larger than life character whose distinctive deep voice she perfectly captures. Almasy also does a fine job voicing Janie's well-intentioned "hippie blogger" mother, her politically minded best friend Sarah, and Sarah's wild sister Emma, just to mention a few. This is not your typical coming-of-age story, however, as there is a subplot in which Janie and her classmates discover the hero's in their very own town when they work on a local history school project and learn that two former civil rights activists are their neighbors. A rare listen that combines history with contemporary realistic fiction that will keep listeners riveted until the end.—Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI