Longing For Normal by Darcy Pattison

Everything in Eliot's life--absolutely everything--depends on the amazing Bread Project.

He can't let it fail. It means the difference between a forever family or going back to foster care.

Then Alli comes crashing into his life. She's a scrawny girl who also needs a forever family. It's an unlikely friendship based on uniting an immigrant community through bread recipes from across the world--pan dolce, ciabatti, ekmek, naan, pretzels, poori, pita, English muffins, raisin bread, cinnamon rolls, Kaiser rolls, potato rolls, and much more.

But a sourdough starter is a feeble weapon against the system.

The unlikely friendship grows as the sourdough starter is passed to new students .In a pyramid scheme, each student should have starter by Thanksgiving. The goal is a huge bake sale to fund a new playground.

As the bake sale approaches, Eliot and Alli encourage the community to come together, even as their lives are falling apart. Their forever homes seem like an unreachable dream.
All they have left is hope--and a 150-year-old sourdough starter.

• 978-1629440415
• 220 pages