Holly Bourne

Evie, Amber and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Evie's no-holds-barred story of struggling to live a 'normal' teen life in the grip of OCD.

Am I Normal Yet?

Freya mortensen

Yet he was worshipped by the rest of my class for his tendency to yell “NO YOU’RE WRONG” and smash the table if you dared suggest Forrest Gump deserved the Best Picture Oscar over Pulp Fiction.

Carro

Evie, Amber and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Evie’s no-holds-barred story of struggling to live a “normal” teen life in the grip of OCD, from the acclaimed author of The Manifesto on How to be Interesting. Read the first chapter of Holly Bourne’s next book, How Hard Can Love Be? – EXCLUSIVE to the ebook. "An involving look at feminism, friendship and the secrets we hide even from those who know us best." - The Observer "An epic and unique release this summer that I plead you all to pick up! This novel has a distinct British feel with moments mixed with laughter, tainted with tears and bound with love. Holly Bourne has created a beautiful tale." - Paper Trail YA "This is not a novel about a condition: Evie’s condition is that of being a contemporary young woman, and through her guerrilla feminist group with new soulmates Lottie and Amber (who will each get a novel to themselves shortly) she learns new pathways through life that all her peers can follow.” - The Observer “This is quite easily Bourne's best novel yet. Might have been a tricky subject matter, but it was funny and heartbreaking and thought-provoking.” - An Awful Lot of Reading “I love the Spinsters Club, and I so want my own! What I love is how Bourne breaks down these ideas so they are so accessible! ... There are a few feminist YA stories out at the moment, but this is the first I've read that actually talks about feminism and discusses how to be a feminist, and I think it really could be a game changer! And I am so happy! I am so, so happy and excited!” - Once Upon a Bookcase “This book was kind of astounding to me... I got through Am I Normal Yet? in one sitting" - A Novel Youth "It’s not a book that I can find fault with because it was just written so perfectly and so carefully and sensitively. I just enjoyed it so much.” - Lucy the Reader Holly Bourne is becoming something of a writing sensation in the world of Young Adult fiction... Using humour, high emotion, compassion, sensitivity and some hard-hitting drama, Bourne creates a beautiful, resonant story that tackles serious issues with the lightest and sometimes darkest of touches, giving real and moving insights into what it means to be young, confused and isolated. - Lancashire Evening Post "My favourite YA book of 2015" - Words from a Reader

Marz 

A really interesting read about a person dealing with anxiety and OCD. I haven't read a book like this before so I enjoyed it. This was very very easy to read and I liked the way Evelyn's intrusive thoughts were put down. I felt the ending of the book was only ok however as I felt like I had some questions that were left unanswered but otherwise a good read ☆

Jane Keal

I absolutely loved this book and wish I'd had it as a teenager. Tackles mental health in a totally different way to what I've seen before - a far more human way. It covers what I think all teenage girls go through and how this can be even harder for some, but in a non preachy way. Sometimes there is the risk that will make light of a situation, but that's not the case with this.

menna

“The thing was, these women being shoved into asylums weren’t always ‘crazy’. They just didn’t fit the repressed notions of how women were ‘supposed to be’ at that time. You were called ‘mad’ and chucked into an institution if, say, you had a temper. Because women are supposed to be docile and meek. If you were sexual, you were mad because women back then were supposed to be pure… Think things have changed? Think it’s all better now? Think again.” 

I REALLY like this book. It's amazing and feminist and really honest. It portraits mental illness very well. 
10/10 would recommend

Emelie

"That's the thing about anxiety. You can worry about anything and everything, dream up all sorts of weird and wonderful situations to be terrified of in the hope your fear will control the world somehow... and yet the world remains uncontrollable". ❤️❤️❤️

brooke

Charlotte J. Ruth

I wanted to give this a 4.5, but I gave it a 5 because of how much it meant to me. This was a super fun and educational reread! Highly recommend for anyone looking to learn more about OCD and anxiety.

Sonja H

„Am I normal Yet?“ befasst sich mit einem nicht nur für Jugendliche wichtigem Thema: das Leben mit einer Zwangsstörung.

Ich war anfangs etwas skeptisch, da ich ja bereits mit John Greens „Schlaft gut ihr fiesen Gedanken“, das sich ebenfalls mit OCD befasst, keine guten Erfahrungen gemacht habe, doch Holly Bourne ist deutlich tiefer in die Materie eingestiegen als Green.

Evie versucht nach einem längeren Krankenhausaufenthalt ein normales Teenagerleben zu führen und an einer neuen Schule neu zu beginnen. Ihr Ziel ist es, ihre Medikamente völlig abzusetzen und nicht mehr als „die Verrückte“ erkannt zu werden.
Wir als Leser begleiten sie auf ihrer Mission und vor allem nehmen wir auch an ihren Therapiesitzungen teil, denn im Gegensatz zu Aza aus Greens Geschichte, verhält sich Evie wenigstens zu Beginn einigermaßen kooperativ und kommt ihrem großen Wunsch immer ein Stückchen näher.

Ebenfalls anders als bei Green finden sich in diesem Buch zwischen den Zeilen Hinweise auf Hilfestellungen für Betroffene. Man mag ein wenig an den erhobenen Zeigefinger denken an diesen Stellen, doch je weiter sich die Story entwickelt, umso klarer wird, dass es sehr wichtige Tipps sind, die die Autorin hier vermittelt.

Zunächst konnte ich zu Evie keine rechte Verbindung finden, begann ihre Erzählung doch mehr oder weniger damit, einen Freund zu finden und dabei ziemlich schlechte Entscheidungen zu treffen, die so überzogen dargestellt wurden, dass sie immerhin amüsieren können.

Doch Evie begibt sich nach und nach in eine Abwärtsspirale, was wir als Leser sehr schnell merken, wovor die Protagonistin jedoch die Augen verschließt. Sie fällt in alte Muster, ihr Zwang, Dinge wiederholt zu tun und ihre Hände blutig zu waschen, wächst und sie lässt niemanden an sich heran, will sie doch nur ein ganz normales Leben führen.
Ich habe an dieser Stelle sehr mit der Figur gelitten und fühlte mich so hilflos – ähnlich wie sich ihre Familie ihr gegenüber fühlen musste.
Holly Bourne ist es eindrücklich gelungen, die Verzweiflung aller Beteiligten darzustellen und die Tragik die entstehen kann, nimmt man in dieser Situation keine Hilfe von außen an.

„Am I Normal Yet?“ ist ein gutes und wichtiges Buch insbesondere für heranwachsende Mädchen, die sich mit Evie vermutlich besser identifizieren können als ein Junge.
Zwangsstörungen sind nach wie vor ein Tabuthema und solche Geschichten können Betroffenen helfen, sich vernünftig damit zu befassen und ggf. Hilfe zu suchen.

Lianna

Doménica Corral

En algunas ocasiones quería cagar a palos a Evie y luego me di cuenta de que estaba proyectando. Muy lindo el libro.

puts u in an OCD-diagnosed' POV :) enlightens about mental health matters :> really changed my perspective :`)

IDEL

Eleanor Luhar

Holly Bourne writes about two of my absolute favourite topics: feminism and mental health.

So Evie is a teenage girl, who desperately wants to be "normal". She's been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and OCD, and is trying so, so hard to prevent them from ruling her life anymore.

Evie combats a number of issues in this book, such as the stigma around mental health, and the misuse of diagnoses (eg. "I like things neat, I'm so OCD"). She's such a real character, who makes mistakes and upsets people and keeps secrets. She shares her bad thoughts, her rituals and her worries with us, which makes this book so fantastically relatable for people with similar thoughts.

Like everyone else suffering with mental illnesses, Evie has a ton on her plate. Recovery, boy problems, friendship problems... And her desperation to just be normal for once, which leads her into a teenage guys bedroom and triggers a horrific relapse.

This doesn't have a typical happy ending. Yes, things do get better at the end, but Evie doesn't magically beat her illnesses or avoid a relapse altogether - because that's just unrealistic. Mental health doesn't work like that. Recovering from a mental illness is a rollercoaster, with about a thousand loops.

The girls - the Spinsters as they decide to call themselves - are all fabulous too. They talk about all the things that people don't talk about enough, including periods and the difference between mental health care for males versus females. I think these are all such important topics, and are covered fantastically in this novel from a teenage girl's viewpoint.

Overall, I think this is just such a wonderful, important book. For those of us who are struggling with mental health issues, it helps us to feel less alone, and lets us know that our problems are not uncommon. For other people, the more "normal" people, Am I Normal Yet? provides an accurate insight into the mind of someone who's not having such a great time mentally. I really loved this book and all the topics it includes. A new favourite of mine, with 5 stars.

Peppi

Everyone should read this book it tells so much about feminism and ocd and it made me understand feminism better and made me think a lot.

Maria

очень интересный сетап: героиня с тревожным расстройством и ОКР пытается слезть с флуоксетина, найти друзей и начать встречаться с мальчиками, а также ступить на путь феминизма, но написано, к сожалению, рыхловато

Ella Bouic

I have never loved a book so much!! I picked up this book knowing nothing about it and it is my favourite book of all time and the other books in this series are just as fantastic. I love the story line and the point of this book. I think this topic needs to be spoken about and Holly Bourne created this story in the perfect way! Everybody needs to read this book!

Elaine

TW: OCD, Anxiety

I like this one a lot, as I could relate to the main character with my own anxiety. At points it was a bit triggering for me and I had to put it down. For people with OCD it must be even more triggering, so I would go into this book with caution. 
But I really liked the story and felt more understood than I ever felt reading a book. The romance was a bit weird in my opinion, but I really enjoyed the friends of the main character and the whole feminism feel of the book. 
I don't know if I'll continue with this series, but this book was really good.

Tania Kalsi

Omg this book was HILARIOUS!!! This book was so funny that it made me create a new shelf of 'laugh out loud'. I absolutely love Evie and her personality - she is so funny and naive and innocent and kind, I love her friends too!! This is just such a warm-hearted, great book with a perfect, meaningful ending. I'm totally reading the sequels - but I'm a bit sad that Evie won't be the protaganist

Elad Schulman

Really really really good. Such an amazing depiction of mental health, and I loved how the author incorporated her own ideas about feminism into the novel.

Kate

I finished this a few days ago and am yet to find a way in which to explain how I felt about this book! :') A full review will come very soon but overall I enjoyed the experience of reading this hugely.

Am I Normal Yet?

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