ABSOLUTELY NORMAL CHAOS

Ah! The joys of growing up are indeed a voyage and an adventure to be reckoned with. Instructed by her English teacher to keep a diary, Mary Lou draws upon the summer reading assignment of Homer's ODYSSEY to inspire her daily narrations. From Odysseus's travails (stupid though she may find them), her Muse derives some understanding of events and her reactions to them. Forbes catches the perplexities and frustrations of adolescent enthusiasms with a fine sense of place and age. Mary Lou's accounts of conversational exchanges are done with the extreme ennui that only those knowing years can achieve. Parents and their offspring can easily relate to this charmer. S.B.S. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 00]