Absolutely Normal Chaos (1997) (edit title/settings)

Characters/People edit see section history

• MaryLou: Add a description of this character.
• Mary Lou Finney: Mary Lou is the main character of the story, and is faced with everyday hectic family issues. She hates it when she has to make up her cousins bed.
• Carl Ray: Carl Ray is Mary Lou's cousin that comes to stay with her for the summer, and he's not who he seems. He gets special treatment.
• Beth Ann: Beth Ann is Mary Lou's boy crazed, talkative best friend. Mary Lou is a little jealous of her because she goes on a lot of dates.
• Alex Cheevey: blonde hair, and skin is always pink.
• Radene: Carl Ray's mother!
• Carl Joe: looks calming
• Tommy: Has to be taken care of. Each day Mary and maggie take turns watching him.
• Maggie: Maggie is Mary Lou's older sister, age 16 whose obessed with her boyfriend.
• Dougie: Mary Lou's little brother, who always calls himself a "Poor little slob."
• Dennis: 12 years old, always gets into trouble.
• Kenny: Maggie's boyfriend

Quotes edit see section history

• “Inappropriat”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Tell me, O Muse, of something to write. Inspire me. I’m waiting, O Muse. I think my Muse is attending some other people at the moment.

  Highlighted by 16 Kindle customers

• Wouldn’t you like to have your own personal Athene? Someone to solve all your problems?

  Highlighted by 12 Kindle customers

• How could a person like me go along and go along, feeling just the same from day to day, and then all of a sudden look back and see that I didn’t see much of anything? And that I’ve been changing all along? I don’t even recognize myself when I read back over these pages.

  Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers

• Sam Finney (whose age I am not allowed to tell you) is the father. He is a pretty regular father. Sometimes he likes us and sometimes we drive him crazy.

  Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers

• bad things happen sometimes to remind us we are mortal and to remind us to appreciate people more. We’re not like Zeus or Athene, who can live forever and help people out of trouble.

  Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers

• Maggie Finney (seventeen years old) is the oldest daughter. She’s my sister.

  Highlighted by 7 Kindle customers

• He doesn’t just say, “The sun came up.” He says “rosy-fingered Dawn appeared,” and he also calls Dawn the “child of morning.” It makes you think of this little baby with pink fingers crawling up over the horizon.

  Highlighted by 7 Kindle customers

• Mary Lou Finney (thirteen years old) is the next oldest. That’s me.

  Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers

• Sally Finney (whose age I am also not allowed to tell you or anyone else) is the mother. She also is a pretty regular mother. Sometimes she drools all over us and sometimes she asks my father if there isn’t something he can do about us.

  Highlighted by 4 Kindle customers

• Doug Finney (better known as Dougie) (eight years old) gets lost in the middle of everyone else. He’s skinny as anything and follows everybody else around. He’s quiet and more serious than the rest of us, so nobody minds him tagging along, but he calls himself the “poor little slob.”

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Easton
• West Virginia
• Windy Rock

First Sentence edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Sharon Creech (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing (1995)
• ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2001)

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Girls & Women › Fiction
• Books › Teens › Authors, A-Z › ( C ) › Creech, Sharon
• Books › Teens › Social Issues › Being a Teen
• Books › Children's Books › Ages 9-12
• Books › Children's Books › Literature

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Sharon Creech Homepage: Direct link to Creech's page for Absolutely Normal Chaos