Title: Normalish
Author: Margaret Lesh
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Publication date: October 5th, 2012
Source: Blog Tour
Format: Digital ARC
Pages: 175
Fifteen-year-old Stacy questions the strange world of high school, love, her role in a harsh universe, and life, in Normalish.
People tell you high school's so great and wonderful, but they're lying. It's mostly horrible and full of disappointment. It sucks. Your best friend abandons you. The jerk you're in love with pretends to be into you, and then the big dump. The boy you've really clicked with as a friend decides to go all crushy over you, so you break his heart just like yours was -- smashed into little pieces. Your sister goes mental, and you get involved with a guy who’s even crazier than she is (who you know is a very bad idea, but you do it anyway). Math only adds another stink of failure to the whole thing.
High school blows. Just ask freshman Stacy. She’d want you to know.
I am so glad that I got to be part of this blog tour, because I loved Normalish. It's such a fun contemporary book! I have to admit, it wasn't all fluffy and happy, but I really did enjoy it. The main protagonist, Stacy, just wants her life to be normal. Everything in Stacy's world is a mess. Her best friend abandoned her, the guy she supposedly loves is a complete jerk, her guy friend has a crush on her, her sister is sent to a mental house, and her dad is dead. That's pretty much crazy, and Stacy knows it. It's her first year of high school, and Stacy just had a feeling that it was going to suck.
What I really liked about this book was the style of writing. It felt like I was reading from a diary of some sort. Stacy is an amazing character. I really love how funny (even though not everyone thinks so) and how sarcastic she is! I clicked with her from the start, and I really fell in love with her. Chad, her "guy" friend who has a crush on, is such a sweetheart!! It was cool reading a book when the "friend" likes the girl first, than the other way around! Now, even though you might think this book is heavy, it actually didn't feel that way. Like I said, it was probably the sarcastic writing style, and how funny it was as well. Normalish isn't one of those books where there is this MAJOR story, but kind of like your reading a peace of Stacey's life, and I like books like that.
Reading Normalish, I can say that no once was it boring. Due to Stacey's sarcasm and funniness, I always found it to be very entertaining to read. It was also very interesting to read about her family struggles, and how they all coped to get through it. I have to admit, some events did break my heart, but that's just reality. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I will definitely pick up the next book Margaret writes! I definitely recommend this to all young adult readers out there!
California girl Margaret Lesh lives with her husband Steve and son Andrew in a quiet suburb near Los Angeles. Co-creator of StoryRhyme.com, she writes middle grade, young adult, and women’s fiction. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about baked goods, especially donuts, far too often. She believes tacos are magic. Margaret's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
Oh I've seen the blog tour for this one but unfortunately I saw it too late. I'm so glad to see that you liked the book. Sounds really good. I must add it to my list. Great review :) Thanks for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED the synopsis, and I am definitely reading this! Reminds me so much of the high-school setting stories I used to read back in the day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! My reviewer read this book and liked it. Nice review.
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, Farah! I have seen this book around a couple of times. It does sound like an entertaining read! I adore main characters who have a sense of humour. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm sold! Love the quirky humour this book has to offer. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know this one. You are very convincing. :)
ReplyDeleteValerie
StuckInBooks.com
I completely agree! I just posted a review of this last week. I thought it was like a dairy too!
ReplyDeleteGreat review :)
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I haven't read any contemporary with a style of a diary. Sounds like a good read though, and I'm curious about the main character's life so I might try it out one day. Nice review!
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Leigh
Little Book Star
I passed on this tour because I had a lot scheduled already, but this book sounds good. I like diary entries when they are integrated into the story, but I don't know how I would like a whole book written that way. This sounds like a book I would like though so maybe I will try it sometime. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI love contemporary books that have some emotion behind them and this book sounds like it does. It sounds like an entertaining and fun read and I can't wait to meet the characters and read it! :) Awesome review, Farah!
ReplyDelete~ Maida @ Literary Love Affair