Three reasons why you should read Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne (review)

Am I Normal Yet
Holly Bourne
433 pages
My rating ★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:
All Evie wants is to be normal. She’s almost off her meds and at a new college where no one knows her as the girl-who-went-crazy. She’s even going to parties and making friends. There’s only one thing left to tick off her list…

But relationships are messy – especially relationships with teenage guys. They can make any girl feel like they’re going mad. And if Evie can’t even tell her new friends Amber and Lottie the truth about herself, how will she cope when she falls in love?

I didn’t really have any expectations towards this book when I started reading it. I only started reading this book because I didn’t have anything else to read. I was impatiently waiting for Ace of Shades to arrive with the post so I just needed some entertainment. But now that I have read it I am glad I did! This is a well-written book about the important issues like mental illness and friendship.
Here are three reasons why you also should read Am I Normal Yet?:

1. Friendship

You should read this book because the friendship in this book is so well portrayed. They way Bourne shows how friendship is, is very true to how friendship works in real life. The friendships in this book are both serious goals but also a reminder of the cons that may follow. Holly Bourne shows all the different kinds of friendships scenario there can be. How new friends come and how some olds friends go. Friendship is an ever-evolving thing because we are humans and we evolve constantly. We grow in and out of each other. Some friendships can be good for you and others less so.

I especially loved the Evie Lottie and Ambers friendship. They were such a nice trio! They were very different persons but they accepted their differences and had fun. They complimented and challenged each other very well. Another thing I liked about their friendship was that they saw other people outside of the trio. They didn’t have to be only those three. They were part of a bigger group.

2. Mental illness OCD

The second reason why you should read Am I Normal Yet? is because of its awareness on mental illness. This book provides a very informative view on mental illness and especially OCD. This look on OCD through work of fiction is a great way to raise awareness. I do not know that much about OCD in general but this book really helped me begin to understand it and the people who are affected by it.

One thing that I learned is that it is not something you can control. During the book, Evie has a seizure/relapse while her little sister is present. Her mother asks her the next day if she could have been more considerate towards her sister and could have “controlled herself” better. I was quite shocked by Elis mothers approch towards Elise’s illness. (Like what kind of mother are you? Your daughter is sick and needs your full support!) I felt so bad for Evie in such situations.

Evie’s illness was so well described, it felt so awfully real. Almost too real. I guess this would be a trigger warning for some people too! When I read this I got a bit freaked out with the batteries. I felt them creep all over my hands haha! This is not funny Nicoline! This is serious! Still, this just shows how well Holly Bourne has written this book.

Even though this book was a bit dark at some point and I even felt a bit uncomfortable reading Evie’s spiralling down, it didn’t overwhelm the story too much. The first and last reason for reading this book is the reason for that.

3. Feminism

The third reason why you should read this book is that of its feministic aspects. This was actually my favourite thing about the book. I just loooved the feministic touch! It kept the book over water. It was together with the nice friendships the light of the book as well as the coolness! But all the points the book came with are actually important and good to keep in mind!

The three girls Evie, Lottie and Amber did some really great observations on women and society. One of them was the Bechdel film test. This was not really an observation they made themselves but it was still a great reminder. The Bechdel film test is a test made by Alison Bechdel which tests women’s representation in films. For a film to past the test, the film must have at least two women in it and they have to have at least one conversation where they do not talk about men. If it does, the film has passed. (There are shockingly few films who passes!)

Another thing I loved about the book having a feministic touch was when the three girls were trying to reclaim the word spinster. Here are some quotes on what they believe being a spinster means.

Evie’s Lottie’s and Amber’s reclaimed definition of a spinster:

“Being a Spinster means you value your female relationships as much your male ones.“
“Being a spinster means not altering who you are, what you believe in, and what you want just because it makes a boys life easier.“
“Being a spinster means you’re not afraid to look at society and say loudly ‘I don’t agree with this, this is wrong.’ Being a spinster means not worrying that boys won’t find you cute or sexy for saying those things.“
“Being a spinster means looking after your girlfriends and supporting them through whatever they need.”

Evie, Lottie and Amber try to reclaim the word spinster and create The Spinster Club. A club where they discuss a topic of their own choosing. During one of these meetings, the three girls make some rules of feministic dating. These rules are not perfect but I believe they a both funny and important to keep in mind.

The Spinster Club rules of feminist dating

If we expect all men to have six-packs and biceps, we can’t get mad when they expect us to be stick-figures with DD boobs. Try and fancy decent men with decent HEARTS rather than pricks with abs
Do not be afraid of being any of the following in a relationship because you want boys to like you: bolshy, naggy opinionated, ambitious, intolerant and independent. Don’t be a bitch but don’t be passive cupcake-baking robot either.
Do NOT drop your friends/life once you’re loved-up.
Do not pretend to like the following because you think you should: football, rugby, action films, anal sex and metal music… Like what you like.

Anyway, that was my three reason why I believe you should read Am I Normal yet? If you choose to read this book I really hope you like it!