Wednesday 23 August 2017

BOOK REVIEW: The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson

"Two outsiders. Two secrets. 

David longs to be a girl.

Leo wants to be invisible.

When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long..." 

I picked up The Art of Being Normal recently from the Amazon book store (the best place to get books in my opinion), alongside Matt Haig's The Humans. I'd seen it around in a few Instagram posts and was curious to read it.
While I'm currently struggling to get into Haig's book (sorry, Matt!), I devoured The Art of Being Normal in under 24 hours. 

The story is gripping and so intriguing, switching between main characters David and Leo's perspectives. I became emotionally invested in this book, it made me smile, and it almost made me cry. For someone who hasn't experienced what character David has, it's definitely a good read because it opens your eyes to what it's like to be living in the wrong body, and Williamson wrote with empathy and knowledge of the issues covered in this novel, and she wrote so well. 

The plot twist(s) in this book are great, it leads you to believe one thing, and then does a complete U-turn (for me, anyway. you might figure it out!). Each character develops and has their own little things about them that you learn, and I adore the ending of this novel. 

I'd recommend this for anyone struggling with gender identity, or anyone who doesn't understand it. It really opened my eyes, and it will do the same for you. Otherwise, if you're a fan of John Green, Matt Haig, etc. and are just looking for something good to read, then pick this up. You'll love it as much as me!

(If you'd like to read my book review of Matt Haig's How to Stop Time, head over to my other blog, 18 Going on Eighty here).  - Dottie x

4 comments:

  1. Weird fact about me is that I can't fall head over heals for books with two main charters telling the story. Not sure why but, I have that weird little thing going on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely understand that, if the different viewpoints aren't written well, it can become really confusing. I struggled with reading the last Divergent novel because I couldn't really distinguish between the characters, and always forgot to look at the start of the chapter at who was narrating! :)

      Delete
  2. Don't you love books that you read so fast because you love them so much? Also, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the book's multiple narrators. Did you like it or did it ever distract from the story?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually felt as though the two narrators actually added to the story - you got to see each character's thoughts and worlds and it showed this contrast between them which I really loved :)

      Delete