Review: Normal by Danielle Pearl

It's the kind of situation most people would dread. Starting at a new high school, in the middle of my senior year, in a new town, in a new state. I know no one. No one knows me. That's what I'm counting on.

A year ago, Aurora "Rory" Pine was just a normal teenage girl - just as sweet and naive as the fairy tale princess she was named after.

But this isn't a year ago.

Rory is broken, and now suffering from a debilitating anxiety disorder, wrought with precarious triggers, she moves across the country to escape the source of her troubles. Her plan is anonymity, but that's easier said than achieved for the new girl having a panic episode outside of calculus. The worst part? There's a witness - and a gorgeous one at that.

Sam is a walking trigger for Rory. Incredibly handsome, built like the star athlete he obviously is, and undoubtedly popular, Sam outwardly represents everything Rory despises about high school. But as the fates keep throwing them together, a connection sparks that neither ever expected, and certainly couldn't ignore.

But Sam has issues too, and Rory's past won't just stay in the damned past. When friendship evolves into something deeper, can a girl utterly destroyed by the worst kind of betrayal and a boy battling demons of his own ever have a normal relationship? Is that even what they want? Find out in NORMAL, a gritty story of trust and abuse, heartbreak and salvation, and if they're lucky - love. This is not a flowery romance - not for the faint of heart.

I'm a sucker for having my heart broken. Let's just start there. This book does that a thousand times over, but as it shatters you into a million infinitesimal pieces, it rebuilds your hope one small section at a time. 

Normal dives into a subject matter that I usually try to avoid at any and all costs, as I'm sure most people do when it comes to rape. But while the author gives us what I can only assume is a realistic representation of what it's like to be a victim of emotional and physical abuse, she also gives us something to see beyond the horror. 

Hope. Surviving. Friendship. Support. Love. Determination. 

Rory is no doubt lacking in self-confidence, but she does cling to all the above mentioned, whether she always realizes it or not. But she doesn't have these things on her own - she has them because of the people around her. 

I'm not going to lie... Rory frustrated me beyond measure sometimes. She kept seeing herself as the victim rather than the survivor that she most definitely was, and she constantly puts the blame on herself for the actions of others, drawing conclusions that are so completely blind to the reality that people make their own choices. On the other hand, I could also empathize with what she had been through. Who's to say I wouldn't make the same decisions as she did if I had been through a trauma like she experienced? She'd been through a world of shit, and not just at the hands of her attacker. 

I love how this book focuses on the relationships that Rory forges. The forced ones, the real ones, and obvious differences between the two.  I feel like a lot of books focus on the romance between two people, but Normal extends to the friendships, emphasizing the importance of those relationships as well, and it's amazingly refreshing. Up until the freakish cliffhanger, I felt like every character was significant to Rory's story of survival; not only that, but vital to the story's development. 

This is a long, long read - one that had me up way to late and up way to early to finish. I will admit, I felt that some of it repeated the same sentiments, making some of the reading long-winded, but I can honestly say that it doesn't take away from the emotional upheaval that you will, without a single doubt, experience. 

Like I said, there's a cliffhanger and an annoying one at that. But LUCKY YOU, the second book was just released, so you don't have to go through the agony of waiting. 

Beware: This book, at its core, is about a survivor of emotional and physical abuse. I didn't know that when I started it, but once I did, I was in it with no way of escaping. I was slammed in the face with Rory's trauma, but while this book brought what are very real and abhorrent circumstances out in the open, it gave me hope, "like a fucking cliche." 

How could I not recommend this book? Please read it, but know that you're entire life outside the book will be put on hold as you do. 

4.5/5 STARS

Cheers!

#YA Swoon

MMMM Nothing like a hot, steamy meme first thing in the morning ;). Swoon #YABound is a weekly meme in which we book lovers share the moments in a book we are reading that got our hearts poundin'.

This week, I'm going to feature an excerpt from a book I'm going to read. The author was kind enough to direct me to a sneak peek of her book, and not only did it hook me, it got me swoonin'.

Secrets. Lies. Deception. For the past six years, Samantha Hunt has lived with the belief that the untimely death of her parents was the result of an unfortunate accident—that by the cruel hand of fate, she had been left an orphan. But it was a lie, a terrible lie told to her by those who wanted to keep her in the dark. And the truth... when revealed, will change her life and haunt her forever.

Suddenly plagued by a series of events which find her in danger and in need of a savior, Samantha is repeatedly rescued by the mysterious and elusive Shadow—a stranger who seems to know more about her past and the tragedy which befell her family, than she does. Drawn to him despite the antagonism she feels whenever in his presence, Samantha soon discovers that Shadow is not what he appears to be. Determined to learn his true identity and why he has come to Mystery Falls, the small town in which she has spent all of her seventeen years, Samantha not only uncovers the secrets he refuses to share, but also the truth about her own past. A truth which forces her to acknowledge that things are not always as they seem, and sometimes, not even those close to you can be trusted.

Resolved to seeking justice for the unwarranted death of her parents, Samantha embarks on a journey which brings her perilously close to her own demise. Can Shadow use his angel powers to save her yet again, or this time, will he be too late.

::and the moment you've been waiting for:: 

Standing in front of Shadow, I looked into his eyes, and was overcome by a sudden burning desire to kiss him. Without stopping to consider how he would respond, I raised myself onto my toes and leant towards him. And in that instant, he disappeared.

Surprised, it took a few seconds before the embarrassment and shame kicked in. It was the first time I had ever attempted to kiss a guy, and to have Shadow reject me, cut deep. Without bothering to see where he had gone, I walked to the edge of the stream and wished that I had not behaved so impetuously.

He came to stand behind me. “Samantha, I know you don’t understand, but seriously, you don’t want to kiss me.”

Remaining motionless, I whispered, “Why?”

In the dark, I could hear each breath he took as he tried to form a response. Eventually, he said, “How do I explain?”

Recognizing that the question was directed at Shadow himself, and not at me, I remained silent.

Placing his hands on my shoulders, he turned me to face him. In a voice loaded with desire, he said, “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to resist you when we’re standing this close to each other?”

Forgetting any shame I felt, I murmured, “Probably as hard as it is for me to resist you.”

He smiled. Then, once again solemn, he said, “You know if I do this, if I kiss you, you will belong to me forever.”

Inside my chest, my heart was racing. Staring at him with the same serious expression he was directing at me, I replied, “Then let me belong to you forever.”

What's got you swoonin' this week?

Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~