Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman

This book took me a long time to read because I found it very emotional with the struggle the characters were going through, dealing with the death of Jax. I think it took me two weeks to read 75% of it and then I finished the last bit in one sitting. It pulled at every heart string and I almost didn't finish it but I am so glad I did because the ending was good and a happy one

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amyrandles1's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-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? No

4.5

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onegirlandtheworld's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

This is a nice book and I can see why it was a Richard and Judy book club pick. I definitely think it is one of those books that you need to be in the right place, at the right time to really love. For me it didn't really hit that mark until the last 50 or so pages. Its a bit twee but sometimes you just need a nice lighthearted read.

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adogmomsbookishlife's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It’s hard to believe this was a debut novel. It was written as if coming from a well seasoned author.

This book is heartbreaking and heartwarming. It is sad and incredibly sweet. It will tug on all of your heart strings.

The trio that hits the road and the unlikely friendships they make along the way are some of my favorite characters ever. They’re all so quirky and yet completely relatable.

There are so many life lessons to take away from the story, but my favorite is “one never knows.”

I definitely recommend this story, and I’ll be reading Julietta’s next novel for sure!

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reading_ladies_blog's review

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adventurous funny reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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readundancies's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

5.0

So this is the one I think. The book to beat. We're not even fully through half the year but this is very likely to take the cake in terms of Favourite Read of 2021 for me.

Before I begin to explain why you absolutely need to pick this book up because it is just glorious in every way, shape, and form, let me drop a context bomb on ya:

I genuinely thought this was a middle grade novel going into this.

Yeah, that's right, a middle grade novel.

Evidently, you can tell I'm the type of reader who definitely walks in with some preconceived notions based on the synopsis (and sometimes the cover) alone, and does absolutely no other pertinent research once said conclusions have been made. This time, I actually did take a quick gander at Goodreads to see how people had shelved this one, and since I didn't actually see a single person file this under middle grade, I will admit, there was a small part of me doubting the veracity of the middle grade adventure I had decided to embark upon. But I'mma stubborn gal, and so because my brain had committed to hopping onto the middle grade train as soon as I arrived at the station, I continued to wade through my delusion.

Now, in my defence, if it looks like middle-grade novel, and sounds like a middle-grade novel, it's probably a middle-grade novel. That's just basic inferencing. But I very quickly realized that I was completely wrong in my assumption. There was a very blatant F-bomb within the first 20-ish pages of the novel and my exact thoughts about it were: Well then. I suppose I was bloody wrong about the middle grade nonsense. Which was very promptly followed up with: But like, fuck, I am so into this novel.

That was 20-ish pages in. That's how quick Juliette Henderson suckered me into this. Me, the girl who thought she was getting into a cozy middle-grade read about a boy who just needs to build his confidence in the face of loneliness was already over 100% committed to story because I was terrified for myself when the moment when all the shit was going to go down because I could already feel the fucking bawl coming on like a sneeze that's not ready to be expelled from the body but still tickles your nasal hairs and their nerve endings because it shall not be ignored even in it's infancy. 20-ish pages. I did not know what I was getting into when I set my sights on this novel and it wildly surpassed all expectations.

I'm still in awe that this is a debut novel.

But let's get into the meat and potatoes.

One of the best aspects of this novel is the rather shorter chapters. They felt bite-sized, and seamlessly transitioned from one POV to the other so that the pacing was just effortlessly gliding along the air currents that each chapter wrought. It made it so easy to slip into when I had forced myself to put it down, while still allowing the reader to savour the story. I should note now that I am in full agreement that this is in fact an adult contemporary novel, which I don't tend to pick up very often, but oh my word am I ever glad that I did. We flip between Sadie, a single mom who is honestly not always on the ball with respect to life in general but is trying her gosh-darn best, and Norman, her twelve year old son who's best friend Jax has just passed away and he's having a real rough go of it.

The writing was phenomenal. I was almost instantly in love with it. Sadie’s voice was SO STRONG and Norman’s was too but in a more subdued and simpler way. I wasn't prepared to become so enamoured by the dual POV combo of mom and son that has been very much done before but this version has something else extra added to it and the resulting flavour is swoon worthy to the nth degree. And the humour? I LOVED IT. I cannot stress that enough. It was topical and sassy and self-deprecating and incredibly evocative emotionally. It painted a picture for sure and I was and forever will be here for it.

The characterization? Amazing. Jax obviously isn’t alive in this story but by golly does he have a presence. The way our two leads narrate bring his character to life in such a vivid way; just by remembering little bits of him - of his words, of his actions, of his thoughts. He becomes this physical entity that slips through the story’s pages like shadows stretching out into night, not alive but still imposing. And it's not just the fact that a character who is very much dead feels very much alive, I was thoroughly impressed by every single character that popped up into this story, supporting or main. The Goth girl on the bus with her tiny dog, Bill and his bacon sandwiches, Adam and his mobility scooter, everyone. Every single character in this novel is a fucking personality and no matter how small the role, they felt real.

It took only two pages for me to fall head over heels for Leonard. And by head over heels I mean I physically could not contain my emotions within my body so much so that I was literally fluttering my hands around in excitement. I fell in love with Sadie and her humour from the first page and Norman and his hopelessness right from the get go.

Can we talk about Norman for a second? Can we talk about how he generated all these feelings in me that I actually purposefully read the book slower than I wanted to because I wanted to draw my reading journey out as long as possible? Can we talk about how he was giving me second hand anxiety while he was prepping for his first open mike event? Can we all just collectively agree that Norman Foreman deserves all the hugs in the world? Because I want to be the one that gives them to him and I have never wanted to hug a fictional character more than I have wanted to hug Norman Foreman.

My one minuscule complaint is that the overall plot was slightly predictable. But that’s actually not really even a complaint it’s more so an observation because with respect to execution it just it made sense. Everything fit and I got my ideal ending.

Here's some excerpts from my brain as I waddled about in Norman Foreman's story:

Norman. Foreman. Be still my heart, this kid is just too sweet.
The cry is coming. Right now it’s hovering just beneath my lacrimal glands and my word it’s ready to burst free.
It is wild how I can be on the brink of full on bawling my eyes out at the writing in this story, and like a page later I’m biting my lip so I don’t laugh aloud obnoxiously at the thought of the risky business involved with an old man flipping his boss off.
Page 82: I thought this at the 20-page mark but didn’t commit to it because I thought it was too soon. I’m calling it now, I think this might be my favourite read of 2021. Insta-5-star vibes incoming.
This is like found family → lost family → (new)found family again and I'm so satisfied.
Every other line just hits me right in the feels. Like I swear every line is a goddamned gem and I think it can’t get any better and then Bam! the next line rolls into the station and hits me like the freight train that it is and I can’t get enough. It’s line after line after line and I fall for this story a little bit more each time. I can’t handle it.
This Goth girl just be truth bombing Sadie unprompted and out of nowhere but the reality is, sometimes you just need to be slapped in the face with the facts, you know?
I don’t even know what ‘gaun yersel’ means but it doesn’t even matter because it is clearly something positive and affirming in this case and that’s all Norman needs right now.

In the end, I did not bawl. But there were so many moments my eyes filled with tears that never left my eye sockets. This was brilliant. I loved it with every bit of my heart. It's officially on my all time favourite list because the impressions I got from the book even at only a quarter of the way through stood the test of time.

And so I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes from this novel (one of many, I assure you):

When we finished Jax and Norman’s Five-Year Plan, Jax goes, Norman Foreman, you are the bee’s knees and I am the dog’s bollocks and there’s nothing in the world that can stop us now. - Chapter 4, pg. 21

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lozababe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad 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

The thing that really attracted me to this little gem of a book was it’s title and wondering whether there was actually a character named Norman Foreman in it or not. Then when I read the blurb I knew that I just had to read it.
We follow a mother and son, Sadie and Norman Foreman, through a challenging time in their life - Norman’s best friend Jax dying from an asthma attack. Norman and Jax did everything together, and loved watching comedy sketches and comedians and had big dreams of becoming a comedy duo and performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival when they were 15.
However, that plan drastically changes when Jax dies aged 12 and leaves Norman not really knowing what to do and not particularly coping very well. Norman then comes up with the idea to get himself to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that year as a tribute to Jax and also along the way decides he wants to finally find out who his dad is.
Sadie is also struggling with Jax’s death and struggling to help Norman grieve as she never truly grieved her own dad’s death. She has to come to relive her past where she spent a month after her dad’s death completely off the rails and now has four potential fathers for Norman. Along the way she confides in a work colleague, a little old man called Leonard, who decides that he wants in on this adventure and helps Sadie organise her thoughts and helps them both get to the Edinburgh Fringe and to find the four potential fathers.
Some of it may be a little far fetched at points, but that doesn’t stop it from being a really heartwarming story of a child trying to come to terms with the grief of losing his best friend and how you don’t have to be sad all the time in order to grieve.
I loved the whole book from start to finish, and I’m so glad that I got to read it courtesy of Pigeonhole and Julietta Henderson!

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notsowellread's review

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funny hopeful inspiring medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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