Norma Ever After

by: Nancy Baxter

Published by: Ballantine Books

Reviewed by Andrea Sisco

There is a new, witty, refreshing and bold author with a unique voice and startling imagination on the scene. She will keep you enthralled as you fight between the desire to quickly finish Norma Ever After so you know what happens -- or to slow down so you're able to savor her wonderful word pictures.

Norma is like a lot of girls who, growing up, just don't seem to fit in anywhere. They might be gawky, unsure of themselves, or just different in some way that doesn't 'fit in' with the 'group.' Yet, like those girls and all others, Norma dreamed dreams and yearned for the passions of her heart, only to be disappointed when fate steps in every time and 'screws' it up.

When Norma's father dies, he gives her a sea chest filled with cash and an old, beloved stuffed animal: a puffin she had when she was a little girl. She takes the bird as a sign and travels to what she thought was a mythical place her dad made up stories about: the Orkney Islands. There she discovers that puffins are real, women who don't fit in, can, handsome men are in abundance (and they like her) and fate can take a vacation (perhaps permanently), if you really believe in happily ever after.

I laughed, I cried, I rooted for Norma, Brian, Colin, and even Fiona. But I didn't root for a man named Trey, who I want to believe got what he deserved in the end. Fate, you know.

Armchair Interviews says: Norma Ever After by Nancy Baxter is simply delicious. It makes you want to bravely throw caution to the wind and seek your own puffin.