Longing for Normal

Eliot Winston, a grieving son, must convince his new step-mother – now Griff Winston’s widow – to adopt him. Meanwhile, Alli just wants to meet her foster-mother's new baby, a baby that she considers her sister. But life is hard.

When she married Griff Winston, Marj Winston hadn’t bargained on being the single mother of a twelve-year-old boy; when Griff dies suddenly, she's left with a big decision: should she adopt Eliot or not? Alli Flynn, a foster child new to the school, convinces Eliot that he must fight to keep his family intact and the best way to do that is to help Mrs. Winston with the Bread Project, a fund raising project for the school. With his whole future at stake, Eliot tries hard to please Marj. When Alli's foster-mother got pregnant, the family decided they didn't want a foster-child any longer. Alli understands; she just wants to meet the baby she had considered her new sister. She just wants to see her and then she'll leave them alone. As but as the deadlines near for the Bread Project, for Marj to sign Eliot's adoption papers, and the birth of Alli's foster-sister draws nearer, Eliot and Alli find it harder and harder to hang on to hope.

In the tradition of Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt, this story follows two kids who search for a family and a home.