We see Evie's recovery diary. She describes good thoughts and bad thoughts as they burst into her day. We get to nosy at test messages and watch Evie compile lots of lists. All things I ADORE in books, so these were another huge highlight for me. Evie's relationships won't have you dreaming of happily-ever-afters or swooning dizzily about the guys in her life. But they are far more realistic than any others that I have read about in YA fiction. Huge bonus marks here not over romanticising teenage love affairs, but at the same time capturing the giddy moments. After reading Am I Normal Yet, the first thing that came to my mind was: ”I have to get the second book ASAP!!!❤️❤️❤️”

You may be past the age where one can develop juvenile epilepsy, but one is never able to not develop epilepsy. A domestic violence situation is what triggered my mums and many football players have developed it after hitting their head on the field. I will not be continuing this book for the sheer naivety of this. It wasn't necessary. It's not funny. Having your mum not remember who you are isn't funny. a b Sheffield, University of (21 August 2014). "Holly Bourne: journalist, novelist, Sheffield graduate - Latest news - Journalism Studies - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk . Retrieved 15 May 2018. Also, on the subject of stigmas, Holly is not an author to shy away from controversial subjects. I can count on one hand, if I think really hardly, the amount of books I've read that discuss periods, and I mean actually discuss, not just gloss over them, or make them into jokes about PMSing or whatnot. As someone who has periods, like half the population of the whole world, they shouldn't be hidden away and made a 'controversial' subject. To be honest, none of us would be here without periods, just saying. If you think about it like that, shouldn't more be done to make them more 'normal'.

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The Spinster Club trilogy is essentially my call to arms. And the response I've had from readers has blown me away. confessionsofabooklover (25 July 2015). "Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne – review". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 May 2018. There are already several spinster clubs set up around the UK, and so many who say reading about Evie has made them feel better about their own mental health problems.

In 2017 Bourne was a judge of the BBC Young Writers’ Award, along with Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant. [9] Flood, Alison (24 April 2016). "Carol Ann Duffy and Matt Haig line up for UK-wide book giveaway; Organisers of the sixth World Book Night, which hands out books across the country, buoyed by research showing that 80% of past recipients have continued to read more". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 May 2017. Anywho, I've ranted enough. I adored the friendship between Evie, Amber, and Lottie! They're the type of friend group I wish I had grouping up (and still do, to be honest). They talked about real stuff, not just the stereotypical 'girly' gossip, etc. It was a true feminist group, and should be shown to everyone out there - old, young; male, female - to show just what feminism is. I get what Holly Bourne tried to do here and I appreciate it, but I think that ship is sailed for me. In the end, none of the characters were perfect but they were perfect teenagers and made mistakes everyone does at their age. It felt so good to read about teenagers actually acting like some, and not trying to be all grown up. Holly Bourne is really good when it comes to writing through the eyes of a 16 years old, and I’m really glad for that. I’m also very happy with the anxiety and OCDs representation, which I found to be perfect and I never read a review saying the contrary. Plus, Evie talked a lot about all the stigma around mental health and all I could do was scream "HELL YES" while reading it.Another thing I loved: it was funny. So funny. Dark, self-deprecating humor is my jam, it's my chosen method of dealing with difficult situations and this book did it so well. I was in love with the banter between characters and Evie's monologue. There were so many other direct quotes I could have inserted too, because I truly highlighted enough to fill an entire review, but you get the point. i really liked how the romance aspect was handled, toxic relationships are scary bc often times you don't know how awful it is. and despite the people around you telling you, a person could easily get blindsighted In Am I Normal Yet?, Evie is about to start college. After just scrapping by with a few GCSEs, she feels as if now is the right time to reduce her medication for her OCD, and try to be 'normal'. She has a plan: not let anyone know she was the 'girl who went crazy', make friends, and maybe get a boyfriend? As her dosage slowly get lower and lower, she is confronted with the need to tell her friends about her history, and how to overcoming the urges and anxiety that is returning.

Everyone's on the cliff edge of normal. Everyone finds life an utter nightmare sometimes, and there's no 'normal' way of dealing with it... There is no normal, Evelyn.” i was really worried where it was headed but towards the end, i began to appreciate how the author played it out bc it made it have a much greater impact The way that Holly Bourne worked feminism into her story was really well done. Rather than telling the reader about feminism she showed how feminism was relevant to the numerous situations the characters found themselves in making it accessible and relatable to young girls. I loved how Evie and her friends were just getting started on their journey into feminism and so they were each at different stages and continued to learn as they went along.I related to our main character, Evie, immediately. I too suffer from OCDs and anxiety, and I learned somehow so much more about the two of it. I have been diagnosed with OCDs only recently so it felt good to read about it: It made me feel less alone and way more understood. And for that I’m very thankful. one of my favourite things was how the author gave us an insight into evie's mind. she gives things titles like "bad thought" and it'll describe the actual feelings shes going through The whole "feminist plotline" (see: sarcastic quotations, please) that was attempted, failed. It was a BIG FAT MESS. It was done so poorly, I was struggling with a continuous cringe the entire time. If I had read this when I was 15, I would have enjoyed this much more, but as I haven't the book fell a bit flat for me. Holden, Lucy (19 June 2018). " 'Life isn't how it looks online.' Holly Bourne, the woman on a mission to end social-media envy". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 30 July 2018.

I loved the insight Holly Bourne gave into the mind of someone who has OCD, exploring all the ways it can affect someone's life. At times, it made it uncomfortable to read certain passages, because of how hard hitting and raw it was. But I loved that! It was educational, refreshing and honest. i really liked oli's character, i hope we get to see more of him in book 2 because hes a sweet little boy who needs friendship and acceptance Wow! Am I Normal Yet by Holly Bourne slammed me to the ground with all the feels. It broke my heart, made me roar with laughter, made me determined to fight more about feminist issues and most of all enlightened me about OCD. I wanted to write about how the trauma of a mental health diagnosis can follow you throughout your life. And also, how do you recover from the trauma of your brain doing that to you in the first place?

While reading, I was thinking that this book aces the Bechdel test (girls taking about things other than boys). So I was amused and delighted to see that it was also IN the book as a topic of conversation. Because there was no realistic teen girl rep. I was crying. Every single girl was boy obsessed, and the one female character who didn't fall over herself running after boys secretly wished she could, hiding her bitter feelings and self-esteem issues under passive-aggressive comments aimed mainly at Jane (e.g. the shameful teenage girl character, so titled by the Spinster Club). You’ve probably heard a lot of people saying stuff like “I’m feeling OCD.” Or in the cases of bookworms, when we own a book series that are not in the same height or format, we get anxious. I am guilty of that! I sometimes use that expression, or rather, I sometimes misuse the term. Overall I'm in love with this book and it tipped my TBR over the edge, as I now need to read all the Holly Bourne books. The great news is that this is the first book in a series. Each one focusing on a different member of The Spinster Club and I can't wait to read on. The second book, How Hard Can Love Be? asks if feminism can ever make you happy. It also discusses the 'romantification' of abuse in some YA fiction.