Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

 
Title: Am I Normal Yet?
Author: Holly Bourne
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Length: 434 pages
Published: 1st August 2015
 

Am I Normal Yet? is the second Holly Bourne book I've read within the last six months. I read The Manifesto on How to be Interesting back in April, then read it again in August. As soon as finished it, I hopped straight over to Amazon and ordered Am I Normal Yet? It arrived, and I devoured it within 24 hours.

Reading books about mental health is always something I love. I love when I'm reading the character's thoughts and it's almost as if I'm reading my own. I love how it makes me feel - almost like I'm not alone. I also love how realistic they are. There are some (I wont name names...) that are very wishy-washy and cast mental illness in this sparkling haze of empowerment and recovery. Am I Normal Yet? isn't like that. Our main character, Evie, suffers from OCD and is feeling pretty okay at the beginning of the book. But we watch as she slowly begins to descend into a relapse. It's refreshing, honest and heartbreakingly relateable (especially for me at this particular time in my life) to read Evie's story and to be honest I just want to reach into the page and tell her I'm here for her.
The main plot of this book is of course, Evie's struggle with her OCD but there are several other threads that make up the blanket of Evie's life. There's her best friend Jane who has suddenly morphed into a different person in order to please her guitarist boyfriend Joel. There's her little sister Rose (who I adored and reminded me so much of my sister Leigh) who is incredibly wise and is hiding some secrets of her own. There's Guy who messed me about almost as much as he messed around Evie. There's Lottie and Amber, two character embodiments of feminism and Evie's new friends. And there's the little secondary character Oli, who spends more time in Evie's thoughts than in her presence during the story but I'm not going to tell you why. I actually really adored Oli, and I think that's because we are way too similar and I related to him as much as I related to Evie.
 
Evie's voice was unique and wonderful to read. Again, at times it was almost like I was reading my own thoughts. Her anxious moments were written to perfection and I felt my heart racing with hers at these points. I also really appreciated the little 'recovery diary' and 'worry tree' pages that were dotted through-out. These actually show therapy in a good light, which is something a lot of books don't do, and help us to understand Evie's thoughts and impulses.
 
Overall, I thought Am I Normal Yet? was a fantastic book. It's easily made it into my Top 5 of 2015. It's the first feminist romance book I've read that feels realistic and it sheds a lot of light onto certain mental illnesses.
 
I've decided to give Am I Normal Yet? 4.5/5 stars.
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If you liked Am I Normal Yet?, I'd recommend The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky or Looking For Alaska by John Green.
 

6 comments

  1. This book looks really good. I agree reading books about people suffering with mental health is insightful to the world they live in and different it can be from our's! I definitely want to pick this up soon ASAP

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  2. As someone with OCD, I might have to pick this one up ASAP.
    Imogen’s Typewriter. <3

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    1. You totally should. I absolutely looooved it! x

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  3. Oh this sounds really interesting, will definitely have to have a look at this book!

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