Reviews with content warning for Racism - Normal People

I feel like I need to sit on this a while to make a final rating, but for now it’s 4 stars. I see this book as a window into people’s lives and relationships. It’s messy, but it feels like that was intentional since real life is messy. I feel neither character is written to make you feel a certain way about them. It’s a raw look into their lives and thoughts, allowing you to make your own conclusions. There’s also moments that made me uncomfortable, but life has it’s uncomfortable moments. I still don’t have a solid opinion on this book so I would love to listen to other people’s opinions on this!

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bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This style of over-simplified prose is hard to get right but this book absolutely nails it. The skeletal writing feels clear and deliberate instead of lazy, and offers a clean backdrop for a moving and devastating coming of age story and its millions of moving parts (popularity, class, education, sex, mental illness, relationships with friends, family and partners).
And still most of all it's a love story. A very beautiful one.

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ericispublius's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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michaelion's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

These people are literally, as I'm sure others have said, so normal. I don't mean that derogatorily. I really enjoyed the book. I like slice of life even though I don't read or watch it as much as I should. Not as much attention is put into this genre even though it's just as important as any other.

My only issues are with the way it was written. That's more of a personal thing though. I find dialogue to be the most important part of a piece of media involving two or more people and in this book there are no quotation marks. The writing is very, very good, so the issue was when it flipped from being internal and external. Although I'm sure that was intentional. My other issue is I didn't like how their stories went. But that's another personal thing! If only they knew how to just talk to each other! Even still I think they're the kind of people who will get married in the future whether or not they work on themselves. They're it for each other. I like that, but I wish they were healthier!

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mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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dfram's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

March 2020
I read this book in 24 hours, I was absolutely incapable of putting it down. I loved every single element on it. Relatable characters with immesurable personal growth; and yet, the essence of their personalities remained intact. Mental health discussions (with responsible details + relevant and important information for YA). The accuracy of the description of feelings of inadequacy among same-aged peers. The truth about young love, and how inevitable heart break is. The social criticism and the discussion about class and wealth (and how it impacts our relationships). How life changing it is to find someone who not only understands and accepts you for who you are, but loves you because of it and not in spite of what makes you you.

What I love about this book so much is that Marianna and Connell are normal people. They're as real as the next person is. I felt myself identified with the plot to their story. The truth is, nearly everyone I know has experienced what it's like to struggle between letting go and holding on tighter. The gist of the story is best summarized via the following popular saying: "if you love somebody, let them go. For if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were".

My only complaint? The lack of quotations to identify the dialogue took me an embarrassingly long amount of chapters to adapt to.

I wish there was more to this story.

10/10 would recommend.

April 2024
I agree with my past self! I felt able to fully immerse myself in the story and that is a feeling I seek when reading other books. I felt the characters were super relatable, and those that I didn’t love I could understand

except Marianne’s fam, fuck them

I loved that Marianne and Connell were flawed and awkward.

It’s physically impossible for me to love them together more than I do, after all they’ve been through tg

I’m a multiple timeline girly because I love a good character growth. I love how they grew independently and alongside each other. Topics such as depression, social class, suicide, privilege, and sex are dealt with such grace. This book felt like finding a soulmate. I have no doubts I’ll be revisiting Marianne’s and Connell’s story in the future (again) 😌

Content Warnings

nadiaherondale's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was expecting more, to be honest, while I liked the narration and the writing I hated the way dialogues where handled as a big monologue. Nevertheless I liked the exploration about Connell and Marianne's lives, personalities and relationship, I just was expecting for this book to be a favorite since it's so reverenced

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thedambookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

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