I hadn’t picked up a book in about two months – probably because I didn’t want to get labelled as ‘nerdy’ – but I gave in when I went into Waterstones. I blame the ‘buy one get one half-price’ stickers. Anyway, the title Am I Normal Yet? really struck me, as the concept of being ‘normal’ and trying to fit in is something most kids go through at some stage in their lives. I think the author has discreetly sneaked in some morals here, and I think that Evie’s therapist, Sarah, is like the author’s voice telling kids that there is no normal and that they’re chasing a ghost.
Evie suffers from OCD and anxiety, and the way the author portrays her conditions is amazing – she honestly deserves some sort of award. Holly Bourne is really sensitive towards her character’s mental health, yet at the same time, Evie comes across as having a real hatred of her condition. She longs to be ‘normal’, doesn’t want to attract any sort of attention, and craves ‘normal’ things such as a boyfriend and going to college. After her former best friend, Jane, grows distant, Evie believes it’s because she ‘went crazy’ and refrains from telling anyone about her mental health. Instead, she suffers a relapse in silence.
This book gave me a real insight into OCD. Confession: I was one of those people who thought OCD was just where you felt driven to wash your hands and clean a lot, and now I’m really ashamed of that. I understand why Evie didn’t tell anyone about her condition, and the fact is that most of us just don’t understand it.
One thing I also loved about this book was that it didn’t seem to revolve completely around cliched romance, which seems to be the common topic of a lot of young adult books these days. In fact, the friendships were really inspiring and one of the key themes was feminism.
My only criticism? Perhaps there could have been a few more likeable male characters - some of the guys were complete idiots and, seeing as feminism featured a lot, I think that would have made for more gender equality. However, I still highly recommend this book.
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