Review : Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Faking Normal
Author : Courtney C. Stevens
Publication Date : February 25th 2014
Publisher : Harper Teen
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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.

Personal Thoughts

Faking Normal is a book that's going to tear you apart internally and make you want to curl up in a ball and cry for these devastated characters. It's intense, overwhelmingly sad, but by the end, it does give you hope that there are ways to move on from any difficult situation.

Rape victims, for me, are difficult characters to connect with. Not because I'm heartless, but because I've never found myself in a similar situation and I can't even imagine the depth of their crisis and sorrow over their assault. I'm not going to pretend to know what a rape victim is like because I don't, but Courtney Stevens crafted, what it felt like to me, a realistic character in Alexi. She's heart-broken, afraid, but doesn't say a word of what happened to her. She goes through her daily life, swallowing her fear and trying very hard to forget, but she still comes back home and scratches her neck repeatedly to escape the pain. I felt so much for Alexi. At first, it was hard for me to stomach the idea of her not talking to anyone about her sexual assault. I was angry at her. I wanted to shake her by the shoulders, but over the course of the story, as she began to open up to the reader, I understood her situation. I understood why she refused to talk and all I can say about Alexi is that she was strong, stronger than I could ever be if I were in her place and I reckon, other younger women too.

The other main character in the book is Bodee. Oh Bodee and his different hair color a day! He was also going through so much in the book what with his father having murdered his mother. It was a heartbreaking situation and I thought Bodee handled it so well. He's a beautiful character and like Alexi possessed so much depth to him. It pained me to watch these two go through so much at their young age, but watching them overcome their fears, learning to speak up and doing the right thing gave me so much hope and pride for these characters. The relationship that evolved between these two was one of my favorite part of Faking Normal. Bodee and Alexi slowly begin to grow a friendship when Bodee moves in with Alexi's family and the trust they begin to share is beautifully portrayed. There is nothing rushed about the romance. What I loved about their relationship was how despite going through some terrible situations, these two helped each other through their issues at the same time learning how to overcome their own problems as well.

Courtney Stevens brought tears to my eyes with this powerful and moving story. Her beautiful prose, her realistic characters and her poignant portrayal of two teenagers learning to gradually heal are not to be missed.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for the e-ARC of Faking Normal.