A review by ryan24watson
Normal People by Sally Rooney

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

Sally Rooney wonderfully crafted two lead characters that hard to love, but even harder to not fall in love with. The #1 theme in this book is poor communication and jumping to conclusions, and though constant throughout the novel, it's kept fresh in ways that allows each situation to avoid feeling repetitive. I love the realistic role reversals as well -  the well-liked high school student becoming the outcast and vice versa. Two fully fledged out, independent protagonists embody a realistic picture of young loving relationships between people who cannot seem to figure out how to properly express how they feel nor how to actively listen to their partner without making assumptions about their intentions.
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