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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I think the two stars was more an issue of "don't read this if you have OCD" more than anything.
I don't know where to start, I absolutely loved this book. All the themes explored, the characters and the writing were amazing. For once I truly related to and understood the main character. I find myself in a lot of her anxiety and over thinking. Her worries reminded me of mine, to a lesser extent but it felt incredibly good to see this character be more like me than most of the ones I read. Evie asks herself a loot of questions before acting and I feel like I don't see enough YA characters who do, which always baffles me because it's so obvious that in their position I would be questioning everything but they're not scared??? So Evie felt very real to me.
The friendships are inspiring and the love and support from secondary characters are we need more of in YA.
And the overall positive message of the book, that we will get better, that people will support and love you, that crazy really isn't a thing and normal neither.
I just have a lot of feelings about this, I'm excited to read the next books.
I hope to see more of Oli ❤️ see that's an example of a realistic thing, Evie doesn't do what you expect her to (like comfort Oli, tell everyone she's not okay) because it's hard to do that when you already have to support yourself. And mental illness can make you hurt others without you wanting to, and you feel guilt but you can't help it. It's sad and real and this book did a great job at portraying this. I think a lot of ppl could learn from this story and understand the perspective of ppl with mental illness better.
The friendships are inspiring and the love and support from secondary characters are we need more of in YA.
And the overall positive message of the book, that we will get better, that people will support and love you, that crazy really isn't a thing and normal neither.
I just have a lot of feelings about this, I'm excited to read the next books.
I hope to see more of Oli ❤️ see that's an example of a realistic thing, Evie doesn't do what you expect her to (like comfort Oli, tell everyone she's not okay) because it's hard to do that when you already have to support yourself. And mental illness can make you hurt others without you wanting to, and you feel guilt but you can't help it. It's sad and real and this book did a great job at portraying this. I think a lot of ppl could learn from this story and understand the perspective of ppl with mental illness better.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the OCD representation but I found the female MC lacked depth. I felt like her whole personality was just about her mental illness and boys. The whole topic of feminism was also talked too much about, I often wondered if I was still reading fiction or just an essay. Overall I found the story quite disappointing, the writing style wasn’t great either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the feminism in this book is very basic but I think the depiction of OCD clarifies many common misconceptions and shows the very harsh reality while keeping the main character likeable (coming from someone who has never experienced it). I especially liked how she showed OCD, and mental illness in general, as selfish sometimes. It is something that is not depicted enough, but Bourne managed to explain that while it can make you selfish, it shouldn't go too extreme either and the mentally ill person should try to work on it too.
Questo libro mi ha davvero aperto gli occhi su un sacco di cose. Su una malattia mentale come l'OCD, su tanti aspetti dell'essere una ragazza su cui non mi ero mai soffermata troppo, sull'amicizia e su quanto, a volte, i ragazzi possano essere davvero molto, molto, molto, molto stupidi, insensibili ma, ehi, è l'età. Evie è davvero in gamba, la stimo incredibilmente. Questo libro è diverso da tutti quelli che ho letto fin'ora. Mi sono sempre concentrata sulle storie d'amore ma questo libro NON E' ASSOLUTAMENTE UNA STORIA D'AMORE, è una storia sull'amicizia, sull'essere forte per se stessi e chi ci ama, ma soprattutto per se stessi, sull'essere una ragazza in un mondo di uomini e ho AMATO LA FORTE PRESENZA DI FEMMINISMO in questo libro.
E il suo realismo.
Il suo affrontare ogni situazione con realismo e senso dell'umorismo.
Sì, l'ho amato amato amato amato.
Sono così felice di averlo letto.
Penso che Evie finirà dritta nella mia lista di protagoniste femminili da cui prendere esempio, perché questa ragazza affronta l'inferno per poi tornare in superficie, consapevole che non è finita qua ma anche che può farcela. E' una tale fonte di ispirazione.
E il suo realismo.
Il suo affrontare ogni situazione con realismo e senso dell'umorismo.
Sì, l'ho amato amato amato amato.
Sono così felice di averlo letto.
Penso che Evie finirà dritta nella mia lista di protagoniste femminili da cui prendere esempio, perché questa ragazza affronta l'inferno per poi tornare in superficie, consapevole che non è finita qua ma anche che può farcela. E' una tale fonte di ispirazione.
Oh, its very realistic alright.
Am I Normal Yet? is every bit as thoughtful, feminist and full of friendship as I thought it would be. At some points, I feel like Evie (the MC) is childish and immature, even at 16 but at another points, I desperately want to hug her and tell, "Its okay, Evie. You're okay."
Evie suffers from OCD and not your usual "ooh i like my pens in a line. I'm so OCD." Its the real deal, and it's heartbreaking. Shes constantly aware of germs in her surrounding, she washes her hands 70 times in an hour, thinking it's still not clean enough. And this is her story, coping with it while trying to be normal and have friends&boyfriends. I'll leave it to u guys to find out yourself.
Funny thing is, i went and did my house chores right after finishing this book. I did the laundry and the dishes, all the while thinking, "Shit just how many germs have i touched today ew." Hah, thanks Evie for that.
How Holly Bourne touches the issue of feminism is amazing. Rather than talking about feminism literally, she goes and relate young adults' daily lives problem with feminism. Theres this whole talk about having menstrual cycle and how the world turns it into something shameful WHICH ITS NOT???
"I always buy my sanitary pads the compact ones, so I can hide them in my hand on the way to the loo so no one can see what I'm carrying."
Oh I so can relate.
There are these whole other issues and funfacts (boys, mental health, sisterhood, friendship) that are so worth the read to us, girls because everything is so real and eye-opening.
I read this right after The Rose and the Dagger so it felt a bit flat, action-wise. But thats just me and my wrong choice of timing. It's still good though.
Read this, and you'll understand what i mean.
Am I Normal Yet? is every bit as thoughtful, feminist and full of friendship as I thought it would be. At some points, I feel like Evie (the MC) is childish and immature, even at 16 but at another points, I desperately want to hug her and tell, "Its okay, Evie. You're okay."
Evie suffers from OCD and not your usual "ooh i like my pens in a line. I'm so OCD." Its the real deal, and it's heartbreaking. Shes constantly aware of germs in her surrounding, she washes her hands 70 times in an hour, thinking it's still not clean enough. And this is her story, coping with it while trying to be normal and have friends&boyfriends. I'll leave it to u guys to find out yourself.
Funny thing is, i went and did my house chores right after finishing this book. I did the laundry and the dishes, all the while thinking, "Shit just how many germs have i touched today ew." Hah, thanks Evie for that.
How Holly Bourne touches the issue of feminism is amazing. Rather than talking about feminism literally, she goes and relate young adults' daily lives problem with feminism. Theres this whole talk about having menstrual cycle and how the world turns it into something shameful WHICH ITS NOT???
"I always buy my sanitary pads the compact ones, so I can hide them in my hand on the way to the loo so no one can see what I'm carrying."
Oh I so can relate.
There are these whole other issues and funfacts (boys, mental health, sisterhood, friendship) that are so worth the read to us, girls because everything is so real and eye-opening.
I read this right after The Rose and the Dagger so it felt a bit flat, action-wise. But thats just me and my wrong choice of timing. It's still good though.
Read this, and you'll understand what i mean.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really, really true to what it's like having missed out on an ordinary adolescence and how knowing a train-of-thought is harmful doesn't necessarily mean you can stop it.