Rating: 
Summary: Compelling, but flawed
Review: I agree with the reviewers who have written about the poor character development in this novel. Rose I found interesting, and not unlike a friend who has lost a son. Her breaking out of grief happened too quickly to be believed.
Opal (how is that a better name than Raylee?) was not very likeable but very similar to the teenage mothers who I work with. We may be shocked at their language and immaturity but they are fierce, loving mothers. Anne LeClare has written an important book that is a page-turner.
Rating: 
Summary: this book top notch not stereo typed
Review: I almost let a review or two keep me from reading this little jewel. This story very adeptly explores the lives of four people.There a few extra characters but I'd say there were four main ones. I was able to know how each character felt about what was going on in their own lives and how they felt about the other characters. I really enjoyed the way it moved in and out of each character's narrating the story. Sometimes it even back-tracked just a little and even that was well done. I'm afraid that this book may get overlooked because it quietly tells it story. The story itself is sometimes amusing and sometimes very poignant. Make sure you read lots of reviews if you're thinking of not giving this one a shot. It will stick with you awhile too!
Rating:
Summary: Unerring Voice
Review: I could not put this novel down and read it in one day. Anne LeClaire has an unerring voice so much so that the names titling the chapters were not necessary. I knew instantly whose head we were in. I have lost a child, and while I did not experience grief in the same way Rose did, LeClaire did not take a wrong step. Her characters were strong but flawed which made them so real. I particularly liked the author's portrayal of Ned, Rose's husband. In spite of the serious subject-the death of Rose's son, her marriage in trouble, Opal's struggle to rear and keep her son, the book was full off humor, which offset and enhanced the drama. Ms. LeClaire's writing is low key and all the more powerful for that. This is a plot that everyone can identify with and I urge you to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: I couldn't put this book down. I totally related to Opal, and as a mother, have felt like her on several occasions. This book had me awake reading it all night during the week. Opal made me want to fight her battles. I wanted to pat her on the shoulder and say, it'll be alright. I wanted to call her mean momma and tell her off. Total emotional involvement.
Entering Normal was well paced, The characters were well developed. I like that the writer used forshadowing and writing techniques that I learned about in school. The plot developed in a realistic way.
Both Opal and Rose were people I knew and had been on a few occassions.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: I couldn't put this book down. I totally related to Opal, and as a mother, have felt like her on several occasions. This book had me awake reading it all night during the week. Opal made me want to fight her battles. I wanted to pat her on the shoulder and say, it'll be alright. I wanted to call her mean momma and tell her off. Total emotional involvement.
Entering Normal was well paced, The characters were well developed. I like that the writer used forshadowing and writing techniques that I learned about in school. The plot developed in a realistic way.
Both Opal and Rose were people I knew and had been on a few occassions.
Rating: 
Summary: It was *just* okay...
Review: I did not enjoy the amount of swearing Opal's character did. For example --the line says i like sex --instead of ending it like that where we all get the point it goes on to say -- I was born to [swear word]. I'm not a fan of reading a lot of swearing so that turned me off a bit. I couldn't identify with either of the characters either. Rose was very closed up and of course much older and Opal was described as okay looking, 20 w/a 5 yr old son and a shade of red hair that has never been cut. I kept picturing her unattractive with a brassy mouth that if she didn't watch it she was going to lose her son.
I kept wishing (and hope before the book started) that Rose and Opal would have been close friends and by the middle of the book I realized they weren't going in that direction (at least not til the very end). I was wanting to see the older woman show the younger girl some of the loops and have them be a strange pair of friends that people couldn't see how they were friends. The book didn't flow very well for me either. Aside from switching points of view every chapter, they would go back and relay the same scene from another character's point of view--made it hard to enjoy when you're trying to re-read what you already read. The writing style was enjoyable, easy to read and finished in two days. There was a decent enough hook to keep me reading and find out what happened. I was sad the judge made Opal move. I didn't think her ex-lover guy was that sincere in wanting to see his son, I think her mom put him up to it and she was very verbally and mentally abusive. I felt very sorry for Opal having to move back with her. (Very glad at least Rose was going to move with her) Was sorry Rose's dh died; I was hoping that the allusion to Rose having saved $10,000 was so she could tell Ned and they could sell the shop and finally move to Florida. I also hated she never told him about the professor, would of like to see Ned kick his butt and have Rose be aware of the love he still held for her even though years later she is mourning her son. But I guess that helped Rose's decision to move with Opal (although Opal should have married her boyfriend to show that a married couple could take care of her son better than shared custody w/a guy who doesn't care).
Wouldn't read this book again, wouldn't recommend it to a friend.
Rating:
Summary: NEXT STOP: NORMAL, MASSACHUSETTS
Review: I enjoy when I read the acknowledgment page of a book and see one of my favorite authors mentioned. This was the case with Entering Normal as LeClaire credits Jacquelyn Mitchard (Deep End of the Ocean) with insisting on the title for the book. Right there and then, that gives the book its first star. Then one of the blurbs on the back of the cover is from another favorite author of mine, Nancy Thayer (Belonging), so there's another star. LeClaire, herself, is solely responsible for the last three stars I'm giving this book making the total number of stars a resounding five. She has managed to take a tough subject, the death of a child, and turn it into a book of hope and promise as opposed to one of morbid episodes. And she uses some memorable quotes in doing so -- "A real part of her died in that crash with Todd: The part that goes on tomorrow." You can imagine how hard it must be just to go on. This is the story of two women. They are totally different and from decidedly different parts of the country yet possess one of the strongest bonds imaginable - that of motherhood. Rose has been living in a daze since her teenage son and only child, Todd, died five years ago in a car accident. Her husband Ned has tried to encourage her to get on with her life but to no avail. It's not until twenty-year-old Opal arrives in the town of Normal with her five-year-old son Zack that Rose shows any desire to get on with her life. Opal rents the house next door and the two women begin to form a connection. This book follows Rose and Opal's unlikely relationship and sets the stage for two women who will ultimately need each other and will derive strength from one another as the story unfolds. If you enjoy women's relationship type books, this one is first rate. It is not maudlin nor is it sappy. It's a well-written story with some plausible twists and turns and, if you follow the right "signs", you too can end up in Normal. And don't be turned off by the loss of a child subject matter. It is simply the backdrop of a story that's handled beautifully and realistically by LeClaire. I have a teenage son who has just begun to drive and I thought this book might be hard for me to read. It is anything but hard...it is one moving, enjoyable, heartwarming book.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent read.
Review: i have recommended this book to all the avid readers i know. it is flawlessly plotted, beautifully written, and hard to put down. what more can you ask?
Rating:
Summary: Once I dried my eyes, I can now write about this book
Review: I really wish I were a writer because I want this review to be special. I cried so much during the ending of this book that, at one point, I thought I was having a heart attack. This book stirred up so many emotions I feel towards my family and life in general that I will never look at anything the same again. This was truly a life-changing experience. Oprah, wherever you are, here's your next book!
Rating:
Summary: Breaking down the walls of the heart
Review: I was a little disappointed to see so many people did not like this book. I for one found it to be one of the best I have ever read. Two mothers who have built emotional walls around their hearts concerning their children. Opal the young mother who may lose her son simply because she doesn't fit the mold of a perfect mother. Rose who lost her teenage son five years ago in an accident that she feels is her fault. These two have both built a wall around themselve that they find in the end has to be overcome. Rose is finally able to come to terms with how deep she has fallen into despair and that life does hold another chance for her. Opal learns that you can trust and I think that is all this book needed to say in the end. Entering Normal the perfect title for a great book.
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