Grace (irisroman & evajacks' version) ✧'s Reviews > Faking Normal

This was such a painful yet powerful book. Even tho it can be difficult to read at times because of the subject matter, it's a very well-written story that tackles an extremely important topic. I applaud the author for writing this book and talking about how the subject matter can affect people in so many ways.

“Bravery comes one day at a time.”

This book follows Alexi Littrell, who experienced a traumatic event over the summer and is still suffering from it. The only ways she can cope are hiding in her closet, counting the slats in the air vent and scratching the back of her neck. However, her life suddenly changes when Bodee Lennox, the 'Kool-Aid Kid', moves in with her family after a family tragedy. The two become friends and begin to help each other with their challenges- Alexi giving Bodee the strength to deal with his past and Bodee helping Alexi summoning the courage to find her voice and speak out about what happened to her.

“But today is better than yesterday. And this hurt is still a hole in me, but it's a shrinking hole.”

I could kinda tell this would be a 'sad/difficult' book going in, but I still didn't expect it to be this hard-hitting. Faking Normal can be incredibly hard to read at times and reading about the pain of both Bodee and Alexi broke my heart. I actually cried multiple times while reading this, which I barely ever do. It's such a painful, painful book.

But it's also a very important one. The subject matter is one that is very much present in today's society and it's one that I'm sure affects many, many people. I have personally not experienced what Alexi experienced, and I don't know anyone who experienced that, but that made this even more important for me to read. This book gives incredible insight on the topic and shows a lot of ways that it can affect someone's life. Reading books like this can be hard, as I've said before, but it is VERY important.

I also just think that Faking Normal was really well-written. The writing is super easy to read and Bodee and Alexi both feel like real people. The book is short, but packs a punch, and I think the writing, the characters and the way the story unfolds were all done really well. Even without the issues it talks about, it's a really good book.

Overall, such an important book to read. It sheds light on a very painful topic, but still gives hope that it's possible to recover. I'd definitely recommend it, but highly suggest that you check the trigger warnings first.

~ 4 stars

Trigger warnings (what I picked up): rape, self-harm, murder (mentioned)

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This was painful and heartbreaking, yet also beautiful and uplifting. I cried multiple times 💔💔

Going to need to think on this for a while before I review it.... so rtc.