Normal People by Salley Rooney

3 stars! Spoiler free!

So, unfortunately I don't get the hype and that may be because Salley Rooney and her writing/this genre may just not be for me. I read this because a fave Youtuber of mine whom I religiously follow, loved this book and I wanted to too. Sadly, it fell just in the middle for me.

What I liked:

• Many people have said this, Rooney has a good understanding of the adolescent mind. A lot of what she writes about in Normal People are actually things I imagine real life people experience and it's a unique perspective to read in.

  • The mind of a misfit

  • Feeling you are responsible for what others think of you

  • Anxiety and depression

  • Having interests that other people may find deplorable

• The attraction between two people that are meant to be: I'd say this was a good romance (not amazing or great or mind blowing), just good. And based on right people, wrong time or rather "wrong mindset" which again literally happens in real life.

• Ending was bitter-happy, but realistic and hopeful.

Reasons why I dropped two stars are really just because of overall enjoyment. I think it's this type of book (too equivalent to real life) or this genre (slice-of-life but make it sad) or this author (could be her writing style); that just isn't for me. So I'll likely not pick up any more of her books. I read to escape and live in other peoples shoes and this wasn't necessarily a story I'd want to experience again. I'm glad I read it, but I just didn't fall in love it.