Far From Normal

Gr 10 Up–A story of firsts—Maddie’s first real job responsibility, the first weekend home alone, and her first love. In the process, readers see Maddie transition from an ordinary high school student from Normal, IL, to a mature adult in the big city of Chicago. Maddie enjoys many freedoms exploring the city under the relaxed watch of her Aunt Emma, who is also responsible for the glamorous summer internship she lands at Velocity Marketing. There, along with the staff of other young interns who are also trying to map out their futures, Maddie has the job of cleaning up the bad-boy reputation of a young, hot, Italian soccer star, Gabriel Fortunado. It requires Maddie to use social media and get acquainted with the world of personal branding and marketing, but also competition and workplace jealousy; Aunt Emma is the company’s founder, and Maddie has to prove that she is worthy of the internship.