Twelve Steps to Normal

Sixteen-year-old Kira moves back home after eight months of living with her aunt in Oregon while her father was in rehab. Back in Texas, Kira is happy to reunite with her best friends Lin, Whitney, and Raegan, and she hopes to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend, Jay. What she doesn’t expect is that her father has opened up their home to three other recovering alcoholics he met at rehab. Kira is upset by her father’s choice in roommates and does her best to keep the situation secret, but Lin knows Kira is hiding something, and Whitney is now dating Jay. Meanwhile, Kira’s middle school crush, Alex, is starting to feel like the only person she can talk to. Debut novelist Penn uses her own experience with an alcoholic father (discussed in an author’s note) as a basis for Kira’s relationship with her father—or, rather, the relationship she wishes she had with him. Penn is open about the fact that her story doesn’t address some of the harsher aspects of addition and relapse, but it does emphasize the importance of support and forgiveness. Ages 14–up. [em]Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Mar.) [/em]