My Sister Annie

In Charlie's family, ``not normal is normal.'' Embarrassed by his older sister, Annie, who suffers from Down's syndrome, and his younger twin sisters, 11-year-old Charlie struggles to balance the demands of his particular family with his own preoccupations--an attractive classmate named Misty and the chance to join a popular but unruly club. Charlie's ambivalence and his resentment of Annie are realistically if simplistically depicted. The one-note theme holds back the development of the characters, so that Charlie's immediate response to advice offered by a supportive coach (who describes having a blind brother) and a new support group seems too easy. Dodds, who is the father of a learning-disabled child, is much more convincing when he conveys Charlie's discomfiture in the presence of peers who stare at or mock Annie; his discussion of difficult family dynamics generates not only interest but sympathy. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)