REVIEW: Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

 

“With ‘Am I Normal Yet?’, Holly Bourne seems to really understand the reality of being a teenager in love with a men

Am I Normal Yet? Probably not.

All Evie wants is to be normal. She’s nearly off her medication and starting at a new college -High School for Americans- and no one knows about her as the “girl who went crazy”. Evie is even making friends and going to parties. The last thing to be ticked off her list is going to be harder than she thought.

No one is really considered “normal” but for Evie all she really ever wanted was to be normal. Evie has been diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and she struggles to fit in and be a “normal teenager”.

“I honestly felt such a connection with Evie and that is something I really enjoy about reading. It takes you into the mind of that character and you get that connection. That is one thing I loved about Am I Normal Yet?” 

After moving to a new college, Evie decides she’s just going to avoid telling people about her condition and try her best to fit into the social life that comes with college (high school for Americans). Evie decides to create a list of possibly achievable things she can do whilst at college, and she ends up needing only one more to be ticked off. Getting a relationship.

As most human beings know, relationships are not the easiest things to hold onto or even find. You have to really know what you want before really get into them. But if Evie can’t even open up to her new friends about her OCD, how can she possibly hope to be in a relationship?

“Am I Normal Yet?” was an amazing book. I thoroughly enjoyed how real it felt. It didn’t play up the mental illness and it didn’t play up relationships and glorify them to be this almighty source of happiness and eternal joy, because let’s face it, they’re not. But I loved this aspect of the book. The almost reality of it all.

I’ve found it hard to really connect with some characters when I read books, but while reading this, I felt an enormous connection to Evie. I just seemed to know what she was going through and how difficult it is. It is also rare for me to read a GOOD book about mental illness because the author ends up using it as a tool for the character to get along in life. People feel empathy and want to help and sometimes it helps them fall in love. But I don’t really think that’s real love when someone only loves you out of pity. But with “Am I Normal Yet?”, Holly Bourne seems to really understand the reality of being a teenager in love with a mental disorder.

One thing I found to really relate to the most while reading this book is the “bad thoughts” that Evie would constantly think about. Throughout the progression of the book, Evie is constantly having these “bad thoughts” and the occasional “good thought”, and it allowed us to actually connect with her on a whole other level. We knew what she would really think about a situation and how she would deal with it, which really made me think about it.

Having a mental illness of my own, I am thankful to Holly Bourne for writing this book because it was so relate-able and it made me feel less alone. Books like this really make me think as well about all the people out there who are like Evie and like me, and that this is how they feel on a daily basis. It’s definitely a tear jerker as well, there are moments where it’s too much of a real situation, my own thoughts and feelings intertwined with Evie’s.

If you haven’t read “Am I Normal Yet?” yet, then I highly recommend you do. It’s a really good read and you will not regret it. Holly Bourne is an amazing author and I absolutely love all her works.

Holly Bourne has also released “The Manifesto on how to be Interesting”, “Soulmates” (another personal favourite), “Am I Normal Yet?” and coming out in 2016, “How Hard Can Love Be?” which is sort of a sequel to “Am I Normal Yet?” but it focuses on a girl called Amber and her love life.

Let me know if you have read the book in the comments below and tell me your thoughts! Keep reading guys and look out for more amazing books by Holly Bourne that I hope will be coming out all the time!

Don't skip this book!

4.8
Plot
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Haven’t read this book yet? Well you probably should, it’s amazing.

I am the weirdest person you will ever meet. I love books, movies and music and I aspire to be like JLaw because who wouldn't?

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