Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Am I Normal Yet?

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

7 reviews

chaneoosthuizen's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.0

** spoiler alert ** I loved this book, It tells a much needed story about OCD, a highly stigmatized mental disorder. The main character, Evie, is a teenage girl with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She is about to go on a date to a house party, with a guy she met in her psychology class, but she is unpleasantly surprised when he shows up absolutely pissed. Jane, her best friend and the only person who was there for her through a time when her OCD was really bad, is so obsessed with her boyfriend, Joel, that she ultimately becomes unreliable. Evie is about ready to give up hope when she meats Amber and Lottie. They soon grow very close and all become best friends. However, Evie deciedes not to tell them about her OCD as she fears they'll judge her. Together, the three of them form the spinster club, a feminist organization that discusses all the acts of sexism in their school and society in general. That is until she gets a little too closer to this guy called... Guy (that had to have been on purpose) who creeps into her life and becomes her worst nightmare. She ends up almost having sex with him before she realizes that he was just using her. After that, she has a meltdown. She wants to cleanse her entire body and sees only one way to do that. She pours an entire bottle of bleach onto her body and ends up in the hospital. When Amber and Lottie come to visit, she finally tells them about her diagnosis, and where she expects judgment, she finds compassion and understanding instead.

This book is an excellent, easy to follow story, although it gets dark at times. It is really fast-paced, and thoughts blend into each other seamlessly. In a lot of books recently, there is this gap near the end right before the climax. Where, it just feels like there is nothing going on, just pointless words on a page. This book, however, doesn't seem to have that. Overall, it is excellently written like all Holly Bourne books are!

The main character feels well rounded, and realistic. She's not exactly likable and can come off as too much sometimes. However, I think this can be seen as a good thing as that's how real people are! No one is perfect, and I think Holly Bourne is really good at creating imperfect characters.

This honestly would've been a 5 star book if we saw more of Oli's character. He's supposed to be the main love interest, but he's in a total of 5 pages. I know this is a feminist book that's supposed to be focused on Evie and her story, outside of love, but the book does heavily imply that Evie and Olly do end up dating. The problem is, we don't know if Oli is any better than Guy.

Regardless, this is still an amazing book, and I definitely think you should read it if:
- You are a feminist
- You are interested in modern-day feminism
- You want a raw story about mental health
- You want to read a story about the importance of female friendships
- You like "I knew you were trouble" by Taylor Swift

!!CHEACK TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING!!

Content Warnings

atlasisreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Content Warnings

jesse_5's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Content Warnings

maryam_i264's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

This book covered mental issues very well and the struggles people with them face. It helps people understand them more. The main character (Evie) also had a journey of learning to just be herself. Evie and her friends also had a 'spinster club' where they discuss women's rights etc. I really enjoyed it!

Content Warnings