For sixteen-year-old Nate Alexander, music is more than sound. It's a symphony of color, vibrant and beautiful, a blessing and a curse. For all that he may love about living with Chromesthesia, however, the added weight of undiagnosed autism clutters his life daily, turning school into a trial of his oddness, social encounters into a jumble of confusion, and leaving him on uneven footing with a father determined to make him more "normal." The arrival of Julian Mack, an openly gay new student quickly gaining the attention of bullies, draws Nate into a friendship that tests the limits of what he can endure. Absorbed by the need to please Julian, Nate is quickly at odds with his best friend Michelle and her efforts to protect him. As Nate struggles to find what meaning music has in his life, rumors about him swirl around school, leaving him to decide between defending Julian and his reputation or the safety and comfort of his haven of music and color. Written with deep sensitivity and the rare ability to bring the little-understood to life, Perfectly Normal is a resounding work of fiction that might bring new color to your world.
Broadleaf Writers Association Founder and Executive Director Zachary Steele is the author of Anointed: The Passion of Timmy Christ, CEO, Flutter: An Epic of Mass Distraction, and The Weight of Ashes, the latter of which was nominated for Georgia Author of the Year. He has been featured by NPR, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Publishers Weekly, Baby Got Books, and Shelf Awareness, and was nominated for the Sidewise Award for Alternate Fiction.
"In his remarkably empathetic depiction of Nate Alexander's struggle for acceptance, Zachary Steele has created a singular character, one few readers will forget. Perfectly Normal is a novel that deserves a wide and appreciative audience. Bravo!"--Ron Rash, award-winning author of Serena "Perfectly Normal is a full sensory experience, a symphony of character, voice, and music. With rare sensitivity, Steele brings us into a boy's life that is as uncommon as it is misunderstood--when music comes alive in color. Steele asks the important question--what is normal and who is privileged to define it? Fascinating, heartfelt, and deeply moving, Perfectly Normal will open you to new ways of being in the world."--Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea "Zachary Steele deftly draws characters that feel so real they could walk right off the page. This beautiful portrait of a boy trying to determine what it means to be 'normal' in a world that refuses to celebrate uniqueness is in turns quietly powerful, sharply insightful, and a stunning celebration of humanity--in all its messiness."--Coleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise "Zachary Steele's coming-of-age novel, Perfectly Normal, artfully colors the page of Nate Alexander's young world, a point of view shaped by Chromesthesia and autism. Through the deft strokes of Steele's prose, the reader, like young Nate, will be moved by the 'flares of yellow, orange and blue' trailing 'across the open pages, rhythmic and in sync with each chord'."--Robert Gwaltney, award-winning author of The Cicada Tree
