A review by electraheart
The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

4.0

I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book initially, but it got better as I became more familiar with the concept. Honestly, when I read that Perry played Creatures & Caverns, I had the same reaction Anna did: oh, it's going to be one of those books. But I was surprised by this book. Sure, the story is based on a boy getting sucked into a real world based on the game he spends all his time playing, but it's a nice mixture of reality and fantasy. When he isn't fighting dog-headed creatures, he's constantly embarrassing himself at camp while trying to win a kiss from a girl. The book is split pretty evenly on which world Perry spends his time in, although I don't blame him for wanting to remain in the Other Normals World.

I'm not sure if I liked or disliked Perry. He had no remarkable qualities, and sometimes it was frustrating to watch him mess things up one after another. But he was certainly an entertaining character, and watching him progress throughout the story was interesting.

Also, can I just add that the concept of this story is all kinds of brilliant? Because that's what won me over in the end.