Sarah Nelson dreads going into the seventh grade. Seventh grade in Garland, Texas means doing a big Family Tree Project and Sarah really, really doesn't want anyone to know about her family. Her mother is Jane Nelson and when Sarah was two, Jane turned on the water in the kitchen sink and tried unsuccessfully to drown Sarah. Sarah's twin brother Simon wasn't so lucky. Any time someone finds out about Jane, Sarah and her father pack up and move. Garland might be the armpit of the Texas, but it's still Sarah's home. Inevitably, someone always finds out about Jane Nelson, but this time Sarah has had enough running. Sarah wants answers and there is only one person who can give them to her: her mother.

SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY by Karen Harrington is a story of hope, love, and courage that reaches deep inside the reader to stamp itself on the heart. Harrington balances the humor of Sarah's voice with the harsh reality of human imperfection so that I laughed and cried simultaneously. It is a beautiful story that shows human fragility and resilience through the eyes of an extraordinary twelve year old girl. Sarah keeps two diaries; one fake in case her father does try to snoop and one real that she hides in the most unusual places. She tells her potted plant all her secrets and thinks about them blooming from Plant one day like flowers. She also writes letters to Atticus Finch asking for advice. She's funny, smart, and worries about boys and growing up like any other girl. Then there is the Sarah that worries that crazy is in her DNA. Without a doubt, Sarah's uniquely witty voice and her struggle to find her own identity outside of her genetic material makes this coming of age tale one for all ages.

From the very first sentence, SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY pulls the reader into Sarah's life with humor and heartbreak, balancing the two perfectly to create a world of hope and courage. I love everything about this story and highly recommend it for tweens, teens, and adults. Sarah is warm and funny, courageous and observant, and she is a wonderful example of the very best in human nature. She loves and hopes and worries but most importantly she tries to be a better person. Read this story, you will not regret it. It leaves the reader with hope for humanity, complete satisfaction, a wish that Harrington will write more about Sarah Nelson as she grows up, and a desire to read To Kill a Mockingbird again.

Book Summary

You’ve never met anyone exactly like twelve-year-old Sarah Nelson. While her friends obsess over Harry Potter, she spends her time writing letters to Atticus Finch. She collects trouble words in her diary. Her best friend is a plant. And she’s never known her mother, who moved away when Sarah was two.

Since then, Sarah and her dad have moved from one small Texas town to another. Even though Sarah can see every inch of her new neighborhood from her perch on the stump in her yard, it still doesn't feel like home.

But when Sarah launches an investigation into her family’s Big Secret, everything changes. She makes unexpected new friends, and has her first real crush. And instead of a “typical boring Sarah Nelson summer”, this one might just turn out to be extraordinary.