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Book Review of Libby on Wednesday

Libby on Wednesday
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ISBN 0385299796 - One of the first things about this book to catch my attention was that it's a full-sized book for young adults. Not a flimsy little 100 page medium sized paperback - this is 196 pages, a full sized hardcover! Since I find those so rarely, I was already ready to like it.

Libby's the granddaughter of author Graham McCall, the daughter of unique parents of artistic temperaments. She has been homeschooled in what might possibly be the strangest set of circumstances, ever. But that's all about to change, when her mother decides that Libby ought to be socialized. That means going to school and going to school, right off the bat, isn't working for Libby. Still, when she wins a writing competition and becomes part of a writing workshop, Libby finds herself slowly drawn into the lives of other children her own age - and becoming socialized, purely accidentally. She brings home friends, opening her family situation to scrutiny and ridicule, and she finds that normal isn't just over-rated, it might not even exist.

I really liked Libby's family, even her almost totally absent mother. Mostly, I liked their support of Libby, in all things, at all times. Most kids, and even adults, benefit from finding out that they're not the only ones - whatever it is. You're not the only weird one, you're not the only one with divorced parents; it's comforting to find out that you're not alone. Libby on Wednesday sends that message in a nice way, with all the realistic picking on each other that kids do to each other.

- AnnaLovesBooks