Book Review: Normal by Danielle Pearl (Must-read!)

Thank you to Danielle Pearl, the author, who provided me with an egalley of her book in exchange for an honest review. 

So, Wednesday, November 19, 2014, I woke up at 1am. I couldn't sleep. So I was like, "What the heck, why don't I start one of the unread books on my kindle?" So I picked up Normal, a NA Contemporary Romance. In my head, I believed returning to sleep while reading a contemporary was easier than while reading an action packed fantasy. Hell no. I was hooked immediately from the first page. And come 6am, when I have to get ready for the day, I realized, "Well, shit. Now I didn't get any sleep." And I was already halfway through the book. It's that good. Trust me. All throughout the day, I kept thinking about it. The finally, at 7pm, that same day, I picked it up again. And I read for four hours straight. And I finished the book. I cried. I smiled. I laughed.

It was that good.

Synopsis: It's the kind of situation most people would dread. Starting at a new high school, in the middle of my senior year, in a new town, in a new state. I know no one. No one knows me. That's what I'm counting on. 
A year ago, Aurora "Rory" Pine was just a normal teenage girl - just as sweet and naive as the fairy tale princess she was named after. 
But this isn't a year ago. 
Rory is broken, and now suffering from a debilitating anxiety disorder, wrought with precarious triggers, she moves across the country to escape the source of her troubles. Her plan is anonymity, but that's easier said than achieved for the new girl having a panic episode outside of calculus. The worst part? There's a witness - and a gorgeous one at that. 
Sam is a walking trigger for Rory. Incredibly handsome, built like the star athlete he obviously is, and undoubtedly popular, Sam outwardly represents everything Rory despises about high school. But as the fates keep throwing them together, a connection sparks that neither ever expected, and certainly couldn't ignore. 
But Sam has issues too, and Rory's past won't just stay in the damned past. When friendship evolves into something deeper, can a girl utterly destroyed by the worst kind of betrayal and a boy battling demons of his own ever have a normal relationship? Is that even what they want? Find out in NORMAL, a gritty story of trust and abuse, heartbreak and salvation, and if they're lucky - love. This is not a flowery romance - not for the faint of heart. 

I couldn't believe I had read it all in the span of a day. It was insane. I was just so connected to the characters. They're all so real. It's crazy thinking that if I look closely enough, I still won't find Sam and Rory and Tuck and Carl and everyone else just sitting at a random cafeteria table in some high school. They're beautiful, these characters. They're your friends. They stick with you even after you're done.

Rory is fantastic. Character development was flawless. Probably one of my favorite characters in contemporary fiction. She's so strong, even if she doesn't know that. I feel with her. She's in me. 


Sam. Where do I begin? Amazing. I love him. But no thanks to the author for raising my standards now. Haha. I can't begin to explain how I feel about him.

Cam. I love him too. Almost the same way I love Sam.

Carl, Tuck, Tina, and everyone else. Side characters? You know it's a good book when even the side characters leave a mark. I love them all. It's crazy how much I can love them. 

With a 4.54 average rating on goodreads, this book is a gem. No. A masterpiece. And more people need to read it. This book doesn't just need to be indie. It needs to be a freakin' NY Times best seller. The author does such a wonderful job crafting the story. The pacing was never too quick or too slow. The plot was smooth. The characters were easy to remember -and easy to love.

This is definitely going to stick with me. I won't be able to stop thinking about it until book 2, "Okay", comes out. In fact, I'm on my way to go reread the last few chapters as soon as this post goes up.

The more I write, the more I think that everything is an understatement. It's too good for a review. I'd much prefer bugging people until they buy it. "Read it. It's good. Read it. Read it. Read it." Honestly, I'm about to go bug some people right now, before I commence my rereading.

Ugh. It's just so thought-provoking. You expect me to focus in class with a book like that on my mind? Yeah, right. 

But the thing is, it's so unexpected. A self-published book. I never thought it'd be better than such a huge amount of traditionally published novels. It's a keeper, that one. I can't wait to see what more Danielle Pearl has in store for us. Her writing... *sighs contentedly*. I will praise this book with every single inch of my being. I love it. SO MUCH. 

I guess that's that. Sorry if half of this is incoherent. I'm still overwhelmed. Go read it. Now. Like right now. Bye. Go. Close this tab and go read it. It's brilliant. I swear.

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