Review: Teagan's Just a Girl.  Wanting and Fighting To Be Normal
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2011
Teagan is a maturing teenager who begins her junior year of high school after being home schooled all her life because of severe epilepsy.  After her parents are killed by a drunk driver Teagan moves in with her older brother and his wife who take care of her.  Lacking both the time and ability to continue the home schooling, Teagan is placed in normal school for the first real time in her life.This story is emotionally deep and gripping.  Teagan is a strong character both in her vulnerabilities (epilepsy and having to be dependent on others), as well as her strengths which are led by a fierce desire to be just a normal girl.  Her close friends and supporters are equally real and tangible. We can easily picture ourselves interacting with them and speaking to them.Clearly teen oriented and written for the teen market, it is a story that adults can also enjoy and relate to well, including this 46 year old male author who was brought to tears during some very moving scenes.While the scenes in school and at camp seemed a bit rushed, almost used as a stage for Teagan's bouts of epilepsy, this is a small sacrifice to pay when the emotional depth of the story is so powerful.Anyone who can remember being picked on in school will relate to Teagan and her personal issues.  And anyone who can remember the heat and roller coaster passions of teen love will relate to the developing romance that Teagan and her young man of choice experience.The emotional narrative, unwritten but omnipresent that Mrs. Jager weaves so delicately into the story is immaculately crafted.  Feeling everything that her characters are feeling is nearly impossible to avoid.This author gives this novel a happy 4/5 and both truly enjoyed it cheerfully recommends it!