Wicked Normal

by Lauren Courcelle

Overview

When one grows up with a unique quality, he or she reasonably assumes that everyone else does, too. Persephone Smith, the self-confident, fifth grade, narrating protagonist of Wicked Normal, innocently views herself as "wicked normal," believing that everyone has the natural powers to have psychic visions & precognitive dreams, see ghosts, and make actions occur by speaking them. Wicked Normal chronicles the year when Persephone discovers power in her natural abilities and realizes that everyone doesn't have run-ins with fairies or communicate with ghosts.

In many ways, Persephone's life is perfectly ordinary. She is the only child of Wally and Demi Smith, who provide her with a strong moral fiber, a clear sense of right and wrong, and safety from the world. Although she describes her life as the "happily ever after," this year is full of complicated situations that show that her "happily ever after" exists solely because the 'Rents love her, and each other, unconditionally.

Despite Persephone's vocabulary and advanced maturity, she is not perfect, making impulsive, innocently naïve choices that have consequences for her and remind readers that she truly is just a kid. The other children woven throughout the story are each endearing in his/her own way: Gabby, the whiny tattletale at day camp; Coral, Persephone's "best friend" who throws temper tantrums if she doesn't get her way; Charles, the quintessential sci-fi/fantasy pre-teen geek; Joey, Persephone's blue-eyed, dimpled, crush; along with Seth, Jade, Freddie, Skye, Danielle, and many more cabinmates, classmates, and kids.

Wicked Normal is the first book in a middle-grade and up, coming-of-age, realistic, paranormal, fantasy series by author Lauren Courcelle. It is intended for ages 9 and up. The real-life Vermont setting, lovable characters, and realistic fifth grade predicaments blend with the fantasy element of extraordinary powers to provide "wicked normal" readers with an escape from their realities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781987014785
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	12/09/2018
Series:	Persephone Smith , #1
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lauren Courcelle has lived in Vermont all of her life, but if she admitted how long that is, she'd be revealing her age, so don't expect her to confess it! As a child, she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up (because she liked to write on the chalkboard), but as a teacher, she realized that being able to have a daily impact on students, particularly when inspiring them to become lifelong lovers of literature, was the best part of the job. She left the field for a few years to try her hand at phlebotomy, and although she rarely missed veins, she certainly missed her students and yearned to share great children's books with them once again. Her aspirations were bigger than merely reading to young people; she wanted to write for them, too, so in May 2011, she pursued her dream of writing a picture book. Nearly 400 pages later, a chapter book, surprisingly, emerged from her efforts. That book was Wicked Normal. With it, Lauren immediately knew that protagonist Persephone Smith's story would be told via a twelve-book series. Having heard that traditional publishers frowned on authors marking their debut with a series, she opted to self-publish her first novel. She released the second book, Wicked Weird, less than six months later. The third, Wicked Awesome, was published within a year of the first. The fourth book of the series, Wicked Dramatic, marked Persephone's last year of middle school and the series' final "Middle Grades" novel, appropriate for precocious, younger readers (Ages 9+). When Lauren, herself, was in seventh grade, she stopped reading because the library ran out of books she wanted to read. Her librarian recommended a YA selection, but its content was too mature for her liking, so she returned it and didn't check anything else out. Consequently, the first four books of her debut series were crafted with her seventh grade self in mind - oodles of pages, lots of humor, tons of fun, the influence of Karmic magic, an abundance of innocence, colorful covers, and, of course, the occasional unicorn - without sugarcoating what it's truly like to be that age. Once readers are ready for YA (Ages 13+), Wicked Confessions, Wicked Together, Wicked Alpha, and Wicked Omega will be waiting with the tale of Persephone's high school years. From there, the final five books journey to college and beyond. Lauren continues to reside in Vermont and enjoys going to concerts, knitting scarves, making beaded jewelry, painting, and spending time with her family.