"Sometimes it takes a village to raise a child. Sometimes, as in our case, that village looks more like The Village People. And sometimes, it is not the village that raises the child, but the child that raises the village ... often to heights they never imagined." With these words, Gene Poole-Hall takes us on another wonderful journey to show us that the love we have for one another is the most beautiful expression of who and what we are, whether it is expressed between or within genders, generations, or the rainbow of races and creeds that comprise the human experience. He reminds us that the important thing is not who we love, but that we love; and that a true family is a creation, whether we are born or evolve into it. In this sequel to Normal?, Stephen J. Mulrooney shows us again that when it comes to the trials and tribulations of growing up, infatuation and love, the experience for us all is the same, no matter where we stand in the spectrum of the human rainbow. Normal Too? begins with a simple trip by Gene's brother Robbie to New York City to celebrate his brother's birthday. On his return from a memorable celebration, Robbie encounters a young runaway in Grand Central Station. The boy looked hungry and in need of help. Robbie, being Robbie, was hungry to help. The exchange between these two seemingly very different characters will have a profound effect on their lives, and the lives of Robbie's entire extended family. The young boy, Chris, arrives at the family home weighed down with more baggage than the few possessions he is carrying. His fears and secrecy belie an otherwise compelling nature. In Robbie's words, "this boy is a lot like an onion, and there are bound to be tears behind the peels." What follows is a story that grows and evolves in love, as the story of every loving family must; and illustrates that when it comes to family, "at the heart of the matter, it is the heart that matters most." Chris's introduction to a predominately gay extended family that includes a few retired drag queens, and even a straight rabbi, is not an easy one for a rural southern orphan. The boy has never experienced anyone or anything like what he's about to. But as his preconceived notions, fears, and the story of his life begin to peel in one adventure after another, what unfolds is one of the most beautiful stories of love and family you will ever read.

"Were it a dream, it would be a most wondrous dream; but it's more. It's a life. And I don't have to remember any of it. It remembers me." With these words, Gene Poole-Hall takes us on a beautiful coming-of-age journey that will leave you questioning any preconceived impressions of the definition of normal, and lead you to the conclusion that when it comes to family, at the heart of the matter, it's the heart that matters. Gene's story begins with his adoption into an extended family that includes everything from a few drag queens to a well respected rabbi. If Gene's life is anything but normal, he isn't aware of it. He enjoys all the advantages of being an only child at the heart of a family of unrelated adults bonded together by mutual love and respect. The core of Gene's family is Mother, who is actually his biological uncle Ben. Mother is a bigger than life female impersonator whose warmth and compassion has attracted the most unusual extended family you will ever meet. Mother's partner, Tom, whom Gene calls Dad rather than Uncle Tom for obvious reasons, is a Wall Street executive. Gene's Uncle Josh, the rabbi, is Mother's life-long best friend and first unrequited love interest. Gene's aunts, Allie and Sue, whose lives are anything but a drag, are famous, if not infamous, drag queens from Mother's band of performers. And that's just the beginning of Gene's family. A sudden move to the suburbs and the unexpected addition of three new family members, Chip and Dale, an unusual set of twins, and Robbie, an attractive farm boy, soon add colors that Gene has never imagined, to his already colorful world. Travel through all the trials and tribulations of a young teen's life as he explores all the joys, wonders and pitfalls of coming of age and experiencing the emotional and biological dramas and traumas of infatuation and love for the first time. This is a story you'll want to read over and over again. It is a beautiful tale that anyone who has ever loved, desired, and reached for a yearning just beyond their grasp can relate to. Gene's story is our story, and he tells it in a manner that will awaken all the remarkable and beautiful memories that have slept in some far corner of our hearts for too long.