The Last Exit to Normal

Last year I subscribed to a professional publication called School Librarian's Workshop. It is filled with lots of good things; I won't go into all of that now. What I really have found useful is the book reviews. The reviews are divided by age level, and I have found some really good books there. That is how I found The Last Exit to Normal. Before the story begins, we find out that Ben's father came home and announced that he was gay; Ben's mother flew the coop; Ben's father's friend Edward moved in, and Ben went wild and did terrible things in a three-year rebellion period. When the story opens, Ben's wild period has ended, albeit with a police record, and, desperate to help their son, Ben's dad and "momdad" have moved kit and caboodle back to Edward's hometown of Rough Butte, Montana, to live with Edward's ancient mother, Miss Mae.

While the story is filled with typical city-boy-moves-to-country gaffes and humor, it is also a poignant story of seventeen-year-old Ben's getting to know not only himself, but also his dad and Edward. Under Miss Mae's hawk-like eyes, Ben learns about hard work and the value of money. The humorous episodes, i.e., his first shopping trip to buy Wranglers and a Stetson, his first bird hunting outing, and his first experience of baling hay, are interspersed just enough to lighten the mood and keep the serious stuff from getting too heavy.

And there is some really heavy stuff going on in Rough Butte. Between the redneck neighbor who beats his son and locks him in the closet, the psycho who does not like Ben coming along and dating his former girlfriend and vows to stop it in any way possible, and an overturned tractor which lands on it driver, Ben finds plenty of drama in Rough Butte.

I read this book very quickly because I wanted to know what happened. I enjoyed it a lot, and I know that the kids will also. I highly recommend it not only for teenagers, but also for adults!