Faking Normal
Publication: 25th February 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Pages: 336
Genre: Contemporary
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.
Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.
When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.
A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.
Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.
When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.
A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.
My Thoughts.
Faking Normal is the 2014 debut novel for Courtney C. Stevens.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, full of secrets and mystery, all surrounding our main protagonist Alexi and and Bodee, the boy next door who is left parentless and ends up staying with Alexi's family.
But the main storyline deals with Alexi being assaulted and feeling like she has to keep it quiet, because people won't believe her, especially with who her attacker is (and it's a shocker, I never would have picked it)!
So to deal with it she starts to harm herself and develops a form of OCD, to help herself cope, it doesn't take long for Bodee to figure out what her secret is, and it's through talking and spending time with him that she comes to terms with what happened and to realise she's not to blame.
These two will soon discover that what they need more than anything is each other, and they'll help each other finally face their problems head on and address them.
I really enjoyed this book, as it gives the reader an insight into the aftermath of a victim's ability to cope with this horrible crime committed against them and the different ways they go about it. And to eventually find the courage to stand up to their attacker once and for all.
Such a well written story, Courtney is a new talent that I'll be sure to track through new releases in the future.
A great contemporary novel, highly recomended.
I give this 5/5 stars.
Things that surprise me and might surprise you.
1) I was an olympic torchbearer.
2) I've been making "me in a tree" pictures since I was little bitty.
3) My mother tortured me with dancing.
One of the great joys in my life was being a youth minister. These kids, and others not on this trip, were a huge and significant part of my life. There is no greater joy than knowing what you do makes a difference to someone. These students have traveled with me, trusted me with their secrets, shared life with me, and let me kick their tail ends in laser tag (and paintball and hunger games and water gun wars and .... you get the picture. We have a good time.)
I write by myself with the music on. But I revise and read in silence. Sometimes I write at Barnes and Noble. Sometimes at my desk. Sometimes at Panera. (But it's super cold there.) My favorite place to write is the beach (Fort Walton). I wrote 170 pages of Faking Normal longhand in a beach chair.
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