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cdoubet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pageafter_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
paulaks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is A LOT while being quite uneventful. Being character driven, it follows 2 characters over 4 years. Documenting my life for that long would be the most boring piece of literature but Connell and Marianne are SO complicated and traumatized. That has to be my first warning: The amount of triggers that are passively talked about is worrying. Please check those before reading (I tried to list some). Overall the reading experience was quite intense. Since there are no quotation marks, the thoughts, storytelling and conversations blend in together which can be confusing but makes for a really intriguing experience. The writing style was 10/10 so no need to continue on that.
Honestly, you can categorize the people that read this novel by their rating into two groups: The group that didn´t build a connection, were annoyed or angry or aren´t empathetic (= ratings lower than 2.5). And the ones who identified themselves with character traits or are just really empathetic (= rating 2.5+). Just a little thesis of mine, don´t take it to seriously. But what you should take serious is the fact that if you can´t build any connection with one of the MCs by the 50% mark, there is little to no point in reading this. I was quite invested so here´s my experience: Their decision-making had me on my toes, even tho the way they continued making wrong choices was exhausting. But it´s definitely interesting how trauma can shape a human being. This aspect shocked me a few times and made me question my own behaviour.
Lastly, the title choice is well done. Who is normal? Are we normal people? Do we want to be normal people? At least I was trying to answer that question.
My rating right now would be a 4 star. The potential was there and maybe I´m the problem but sometimes there were illogical moments and situations that made me uncomfortable (most of the time with Marianne). As you can guess by my long review, this is a great book for a group discussion but be aware that this would reveal a lot of personal stuff since Normal people is an intimate story.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
clairvoyant11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Bullying
Minor: Addiction, Death, and Grief
samjesperw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
sierrabowers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism
lomis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol
bridietmc24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Rape
Minor: Eating disorder and Abortion
ju_harue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
E de fato, a escrita é excelente. Por ser um livro relativamente curto, eu achei que seria uma leitura super rápida, mas não… foi difícil ler, talvez por trazer a sensação de ser tão real, tão sofrido, tão palpável, muitas vezes, vi que era necessário fechar o livro e ficar pensando sobre.
A forma como Sally toca em assuntos tão intensos e gatilhos diversos, profundamente, é bem única, transformando toda a experiência de leitura e os acontecimentos.
Gostei tanto que mal posso esperar para ler os próximos livros dela.
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Alcohol
smkelly1997's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment