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A review by lawbooks600
Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Representation: Side Zimbabwean-British-Australian biracial character, major Latina character
7/10, after reading quite a brutal book about a school shooting though I must admit that was better than This is Where it Ends and this won a Children's Book Council of Australia award for a young adult book in 2023, and honestly? This deserves it and I can surely say that the judges have at least picked one good book this year, last year was just meh and now I can't wait to read The Other Side of Tomorrow and What We All Saw. Where do I begin? It starts with the main character Stella Wilde or Stella for short and the first chapter was interesting since there was an assembly with an announcement that a person named Isaac Calder died in a car crash then it cuts to a few months before the event and I didn't mind since this is still linear after all. Stella then introduces her life and then I discover three facts, one Stella has depression, two Stella developed an attraction with Isaac even though there's an age gap and three she isn't the most likable character ever however I could still root for her even after all she's been through, not to mention that support system. A few pages later Stella's and Isaac's attraction is getting deeper but not before the accident I mentioned earlier happened and a drunk driver played a part in it as well. Part of the book revolves around Stella dealing with grief and I can imagine how hard it can be and the fact that she has depression? Makes it even harder. At least Stella has a therapist and her mother but her father moved to another country for some reason. She forms an unlikely relationship with a person called Grace and at first, she looks like a privileged snob but she turns out to be an okay friend but something shocking happens when Stella is a cyberbullying and child grooming victim when some let's just say intimate images were released when she least expected it. This incident took place in the last pages of the book and the character dynamic between Stella and Paris? Quite interesting since neither were fed up and they got along well, to be honest, and this ends it on a high note.
7/10, after reading quite a brutal book about a school shooting though I must admit that was better than This is Where it Ends and this won a Children's Book Council of Australia award for a young adult book in 2023, and honestly? This deserves it and I can surely say that the judges have at least picked one good book this year, last year was just meh and now I can't wait to read The Other Side of Tomorrow and What We All Saw. Where do I begin? It starts with the main character Stella Wilde or Stella for short and the first chapter was interesting since there was an assembly with an announcement that a person named Isaac Calder died in a car crash then it cuts to a few months before the event and I didn't mind since this is still linear after all. Stella then introduces her life and then I discover three facts, one Stella has depression, two Stella developed an attraction with Isaac even though there's an age gap and three she isn't the most likable character ever however I could still root for her even after all she's been through, not to mention that support system. A few pages later Stella's and Isaac's attraction is getting deeper but not before the accident I mentioned earlier happened and a drunk driver played a part in it as well. Part of the book revolves around Stella dealing with grief and I can imagine how hard it can be and the fact that she has depression? Makes it even harder. At least Stella has a therapist and her mother but her father moved to another country for some reason. She forms an unlikely relationship with a person called Grace and at first, she looks like a privileged snob but she turns out to be an okay friend but something shocking happens when Stella is a cyberbullying and child grooming victim when some let's just say intimate images were released when she least expected it. This incident took place in the last pages of the book and the character dynamic between Stella and Paris? Quite interesting since neither were fed up and they got along well, to be honest, and this ends it on a high note.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Fatphobia, and Sexual harassment
Full trigger warnings: Death of a man in a car crash, grief and loss depiction, depression, cyberbullying, death of a grandfather from a heart attack, sexting, child grooming, fat shaming