The Quirks: Welcome to Normal by Erin Soderberg

Yes, this is a kids book for ages 8 - 12. I received an advanced readers copy, thought it looked amusing, and read it this morning. The story is about a family, the Quirks, who have moved to the town of Normal, Michigan. Each member of the family except for one, Molly, has a magical power that makes them unique. These 'powers' have continually gotten the family in trouble, so they have moved around often. They chose Normal because they hoped that they could be normal there instead of quirky. The mom in the family can control minds to a certain extent, the grandpa can leap back and forth in time a few minutes each way, the little brother is invisible to all but his sister Molly, things in the other sister's imagination have a way of becoing real. All these quirks lead to many funny situations.

I had thought from reading brief summaries ahead of time that the book would be a little funnier than it turned out to be, but I liked it anyway. It has a nice theme for middle grade kids. The idea is that, if you feel you are different  and have a hard time fitting in because of it, stop thinking of your difference as a bad thing and instead think about how you can use your different abilities for good.

But, no mistake, there are many funny events and situations in the book which will amuse young readers. The little brother gets into lots of mischief because no one can see him. For instance he 'painted' the white picket fence around his house with a sandwich which left the fence with a pinkish tinge and a hammy smell. The sister imagined a little monster into existence which she named Niblet because of its tiny toes.

I'd recommend The Quirks to young readers. I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it. I think there will be other Quirk books in the series too.