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Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780064406321
ISBN number: 0064406326
Label: HarperCollins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 240
Printing Date: February 28, 1997
Publishing house: HarperCollins
Age index: Ages 9-12
Release Date: January 10, 1997
Sale Popularity Level: 56549
Studio: HarperCollins
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Mary Lou Finney is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller coaster ride of all time.
How was Mary Lou suppose to know what would happen with Carl Ray and the ring? Or with her boy-crazy best friend Beth Ann? Or with (sigh) the permanently pink Alex Cheevey? Suddenly a boring school project becomes a record of the most exciting, incredible, unbelievable summer of Mary Lou's life.
But what if her teacher actually does read her journal?
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I enjoyed this book. Mary Lou has her very first crush and kiss. Her friend is boy-crazy. Her cousin comes to visit. A neighbor dies. Lots of stuff. And, in the end, it is all tied together neatly. With, even, a perhaps not necessary serious accident.
Here is my big question and surprise. I kept checking and checking to see when it was written. Published 1990. But it reads like a Beverly Cleary's Ramona time period. Just not modern at all.
A fine read, though.
Rated by buyers 
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Absolutely Normal Chaos
By: Sharon Creech
The characters in this book are Mary Lou finely and her family, Alex Cheevey and his mom and dad, Beth Ann Mary's best friend, and her cousin Carl Ray. The conflict in this story is trying to deal with Cary Ray, and her secret crush becomes more that she thought. To begin Mary Lou had a summer assignment. She had to write in a journal everyday bout what she did over the summer. She really did not want to do it. But she did do it and got really into it. She has a best friend named Beth Ann. Beth Ann has a boyfriend who is a total jerk. Mary Lou feels left out and she is kind of jealous of her, because she has a boyfriend and she does not. But Mary has a secret, she likes a boy named Alex Cheevey. Well she would see him at the pool. But where Mary lived was not a rich and fancy place. But Alex lived in a rich neighborhood. And so one day Alex told her he only came just to see her. And that's how they became boyfriend and girlfriend. Mary heard that her cousin Carl Ray is coming to live with them for a while. He came to get a job. About 3 weeks later he found a job at Furtz's hardware store. And I few weeks after that Mr. Furtz had a heartattacks and died in the hospital the subsequent few days. And after that Mr. Furtz son took over for a little bit and gave Carl Ray a brake. So he went to visit his family. And Mary Lou came with him. She hated it there her cousin were mean to her and she wanted to leave as soon as she could. And even worse Sally Lynn and John Ray did a mean prank on her. She was so sad they left earlier. On the car way going back to Mary's house Carl Ray told her that Mr. Furtz was his real dad. And that's why he came to live with them. And he got money in the story and that was from his REAL dad. At the end of the story summer was ending. Beth Ann and Mary and Alex went to the pool to hang out and talk about there summer. And they all said that they can not wait to go to school.
The setting of the story is at Mary's house, pool, outside, and Carl Ray's house. The theme to me is that just have fun during the summer and whatever happens go with it.
Rated by buyers 
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When Mary Lou starts her journal at the beginning of the summer, she expects the same old thing as any other summer. She is only writing in the journal because it is a requirement for school, not because she thinks she has an exciting life. But then things start to happen.
First, as if her house wasn't crowded enough with her parents, sister and three brothers, her cousin Carl Ray comes to live with them. He is seventeen, four years older than Mary Lou, and she doesn't think much of him right from the start. He has come to stay with them to look for a job, his mom says, but he doesn't seem to be looking very hard. Even worse, he never talks and he doesn't lift a finger around the house. Mary Lou thinks he's useless.
Then Mary Lou's best friend, Beth Ann, gets a boyfriend and doesn't seem to have any time at all for Mary Lou anymore. Mary Lou can't understand until she falls for a boy herself and begins her own summertime romance.
As the summer goes on, Mary Lou starts to change her mind about Carl Ray. He is definitely mysterious. Mary Lou finds a ring hidden away in his room one day, and soon after that someone gives him a great deal of money. Furthermore, he actually starts talking to Mary Lou, which is a huge shock to her. What is the secret her cousin seems to be hiding?
I liked that Mary Lou was reading and commenting on "The Odyssey" throughout the book; her thoughts on it and the way is paralleled her own life were interesting. I liked the narrative style of this book; I could really get inside of Mary Lou's head.
Carl Ray finding what he was looking for where he did was just too easy. All of the talk of Derek and of Alex was annoying and unnecessary. I also didn't like Carl Ray's siblings and the way they treated Mary Lou.
Rated by buyers -
A great story that I finished it in two days! A girl named Mary Lue Finny is told (along with the rest of her grade) to write a journal over the summer. She finds it fun and writes alot more then 1!
You read her journal wich is stock-full of info about her summer. It turns out pretty bad when her cosin Carl Ray turns up for a visit!
He's hear to find a job- or is he?
Rated by buyers 
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In this book, I liked that there were many different characters but only one plot. In the beginning of the book, it seemed as though there were many stories going on. In the end, it was clear how all these stories are related. The plot was about this girl that had to write an journal over the summer and she really didn't know how to. More than that, she really didn't want to write one. Then, unexpectedly, her cousin Carl Ray appears in her house. I liked this part because in the beginning, she hated him and in the end, she actually ended up liking him.
I know that Sharon Creech is a really good author. I don't think that she did her best in this book. The story was sort of scattered. The parts about the Oddesey was very boring. I skipped those parts because they didn't have anything to do with the story. Creech just sort of threw the Oddesey here and there. I also think that she could have came up with better parts and she could have talked more about Mr. Furtz. In this book, there really was no main conflict and solution. It was just like an everyday life kind of thing.
I would recommend this book to any girl in grade levels 5-7. This really wouldn't be the book for guys because it is said from a girl's point of view. It has a lot of "girl stuff" in it. I wouldn't expect guys to understand that. I wouldn't really recommend it to any grade level higher that 7 because it would be really boring. It is kind of childish but still has a hint of romance.
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