Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne | #Sassybooks October

Hi, Another #Sassybooks review for you today, this month we read 'Am I Normal Yet?' by Holly Bourne. By some weird twist of fate I decided to read this book the week before it was announced as the choice for October. As a result this review has been patiently waiting a whole month to be published and I can't wait to share it with you. Don't forget to check out Charlotte's and Hayley's blogs for next month's book choice.

Am I Normal Yet?

Author - Holly Bourne
Page Count - 448
First Published - 2015

The story is told from the perspective of Evie, a recovering sufferer of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The story joins her as she has come to terms with her mental health after receiving psychiatric help and has decided to try to come off her medication. Evie is about to start college and all she wants is to be normal and not the girl who went crazy. This starts her on a mission to be like everyone else 'Normal' doing what any other sixteen year old girl would do.

The story reflects all elements of Evie's day to day life including school, home life and socializing but goes that step further when showing how Evie's mental health makes these normal situation a minefield of conflicting emotions and uncontrollable behavior. Sadly Evie's quest to be normal is her biggest down fall. At college Evie makes new friends and tries to hide her mental health from them thinking they will reject her if they know. This is complicated by the added element of boys, one in particular who I was left hating so much.

One concept in the book I really enjoyed was the spinster club. A club Evie and her new friends create to talk about feminist issues, I thought this was a rather clever way of approaching such subjects maybe a little forced at time but it's great that such issues are being mentioned.

I am a fan of young adult novels and this book did not disappoint. The story is pretty much what you would expect of the young adult genre with teens not making the best decisions on their quest to be more grown up. Written in a very conversational way, I found it quite easy to relate to the characters. There are also some really lovely elements of friendship, self discover and a strong message of self love running through out.

This was a really compassionately written story which made me really connect with the characters and educated me, leaving me with a more informed insight into mental health. I read this book in a few sittings as I was totally drawn into the story. This is one of the best books I have read this year, so much so I made a point of reading more of Holly Bourne's work, which I will be reviewing shortly.

Have you read this book?
Sam

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