Before lockdown was even a thing I was browsing the book stores for a new book. Id seen Normal People by Sally Rooney everywhere so naturally I picked it up as a contestant. But upon reading the first page I quickly closed the book and put it back on the shelf and kept walking. Mainly because I did not like the style of writing in the sense of the conversations are not outlined the way we are programmed to read/write them. In quotation marks.

Then during lockdown much like everyone else I binged the TV show and fell in love and started kicking myself for not picking it up before. So I immediately ordered it online and after a long month of waiting for it to arrive it finally did. 2 weeks later I was finished.

I must say I was a bit underwhelmed. Not saying I didn’t enjoy the book, I just felt like it was majorly hyped up being highly voted and talked about.

Now if you’re unaware of Normal People it follows the story of Marianne and Connell, two Irish teens and how they’re lives keep pulling them back together. Its more of a being young and finding yourself story rather than a love story but there’s no denying that Connell and Marianne have something special.
It’s a very raw and real story and one that isn’t often told, we see how easy it is to misunderstand one another when we’re still trying to find our place in the world. We see that although we might be alone in the world there is people feeling the same as us.
And although we would like to believe is there anyone actually classed as a ‘normal person’

It’s the perfect book to pick up if you’re looking to transition into Fiction from Young Adult as you will be able to relate to times in their lives making it an easier read.

When comparing the book to the TV show the one thing I really enjoyed about reading the book is Connell, I feel like in the TV show he seems more closed off and quiet and we don’t really get to understand what’s going on inside his head like we do in the book. He is vulnerable, self-conscious, and an anxious teen. This itself is an important story following a young male dealing with his mental health struggle. Its important to highlight that men go through it too and I really enjoyed this aspect of the book.

I was a little disappointed I hadn’t read it before the show as I obviously knew how things were going to end or where a storyline was going which could have taken the anticipation away from me but although it was an enjoyable easy read and very real and raw. I will still recommend but it only gets 3 stars from me.