Am I Normal Yet? (The Spinster Club Series #1)

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The whole "feminist plotline" (see: sarcastic quotations, please) that was attempted, failed. It was a BIG FAT MESS. It was done so poorly, I was struggling with a continuous cringe the entire time.

Anywho, I've ranted enough. I adored the friendship between Evie, Amber, and Lottie! They're the type of friend group I wish I had grouping up (and still do, to be honest). They talked about real stuff, not just the stereotypical 'girly' gossip, etc. It was a true feminist group, and should be shown to everyone out there - old, young; male, female - to show just what feminism is. The book follows Evie’s story as she tries to live a normal life, something that is fundamentally difficult with OCD rituals controlling her. I developed OCD in my teens and although it manifested itself in a different form to Evie’s I found myself nodding along as I recognized the anxiety and intrusive thoughts that Evie had as being similar to my own. Holly Bourne handles OCD compassionately and realistically as we see how the condition affects Evie’s life. The message of inclusion and understanding was torn to shreds by the little "feminist group" that the main character Evie and two of her friends created. They created the 'Spinster Club', which consisted of them preaching about topics (where they came across as naive and bitchy), talking about boys and tearing other girls down.

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First and foremost, this is a thoroughly absorbing story about a teenage girl with all the typical preoccupations involving friends, boys and college. Evie's general situation is one to which many will relate, and the author's narrative voice is natural and authentic. And, finally, the third book (we're still deciding on a title) has ALL THE FEMINISM IN THE WORLD IN IT. You may be past the age where one can develop juvenile epilepsy, but one is never able to not develop epilepsy. A domestic violence situation is what triggered my mums and many football players have developed it after hitting their head on the field. I will not be continuing this book for the sheer naivety of this. It wasn't necessary. It's not funny. Having your mum not remember who you are isn't funny. Now, as I said, this book wasn’t perfect. Before starting to point out what I noticed, I would like to say that a reader who has a mom suffering from epilepsy really disliked one of the comments made in this book about it. I can’t talk more about it as I know nothing on this subject, but I still think that it’s important to point it out. Wow! Am I Normal Yet by Holly Bourne slammed me to the ground with all the feels. It broke my heart, made me roar with laughter, made me determined to fight more about feminist issues and most of all enlightened me about OCD.

Am I Normal Yet? is the first in a trilogy of books about The Spinster Club girls, and feminism is the theme that links them all. Bourne was one of the headlining authors of the 2019 London Book Fair, appearing as 'Children’s Author of the Day' on the final day. [15] Recognitions [ edit ] Holly Bourne did an excellent job of creating a character who is dealing with OCD, whilst desperately trying to live a normal, teenage life. Of inspiring empathy into the reader, celebrating differences and just accepting people as they are. Flaws and all. a b Sheffield, University of (21 August 2014). "Holly Bourne: journalist, novelist, Sheffield graduate - Latest news - Journalism Studies - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk . Retrieved 15 May 2018. i really liked oli's character, i hope we get to see more of him in book 2 because hes a sweet little boy who needs friendship and acceptance

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I don't just want my books to change readers. I want them to inspire readers to campaign for the changes they want to see in society. In the end, none of the characters were perfect but they were perfect teenagers and made mistakes everyone does at their age. It felt so good to read about teenagers actually acting like some, and not trying to be all grown up. Holly Bourne is really good when it comes to writing through the eyes of a 16 years old, and I’m really glad for that. I’m also very happy with the anxiety and OCDs representation, which I found to be perfect and I never read a review saying the contrary. Plus, Evie talked a lot about all the stigma around mental health and all I could do was scream "HELL YES" while reading it. I wanted to write about how the trauma of a mental health diagnosis can follow you throughout your life. And also, how do you recover from the trauma of your brain doing that to you in the first place?

I loved the insight Holly Bourne gave into the mind of someone who has OCD, exploring all the ways it can affect someone's life. At times, it made it uncomfortable to read certain passages, because of how hard hitting and raw it was. But I loved that! It was educational, refreshing and honest. The Spinster Club trilogy is essentially my call to arms. And the response I've had from readers has blown me away. Unfourtantly, there were also comments and parts that I felt contradicted the whole message of the book. This book is all about feminism and 16 years old cisgender girls realizing that the society isn’t that perfect for them. Most of the time, they were talking about really important subjects and were making some very good points. I already knew most of it but it’s still is necessary to discuss about it all in literature, especially in YA. However, they made some comments that made me cringe a lot. It is important to note that all the characters are white and straight. As they kept talking about feminism, it has been said a lot that only women had their periods and that it’s what makes them women. By saying that, it excludes transgender and non-binary people. Because yes, some men have their periods and they should be recognized as well. Plus, they often make each other feel bad for talking about men, as if dating one was against feminism. I really disliked that. I’m a feminist but I’m also a romantic and I love to talk about men. I would love to date one and if all I see suddenly is him, so be it. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect myself or women in general. It was really hard to agree to everything when they kept excluding people from their feminism. In Am I Normal Yet?, Evie is about to start college. After just scrapping by with a few GCSEs, she feels as if now is the right time to reduce her medication for her OCD, and try to be 'normal'. She has a plan: not let anyone know she was the 'girl who went crazy', make friends, and maybe get a boyfriend? As her dosage slowly get lower and lower, she is confronted with the need to tell her friends about her history, and how to overcoming the urges and anxiety that is returning.Put simply, all that is a long way of saying: this book is a stigma buster and I love it for that. Plus Holly could be bothered to tell me stuff about the characters, so no “I want more detail!” rant this time!

If I had read this when I was 15, I would have enjoyed this much more, but as I haven't the book fell a bit flat for me. Yeah, there were boys in the book, and a little romance, but Evie's entire world didn't just change when a lad started liking her. Her whole world didn't suddenly shift off it's axis, and now revolve around him. She stayed true to herself, and I loved that, because I loved everything about Evie! There are already several spinster clubs set up around the UK, and so many who say reading about Evie has made them feel better about their own mental health problems. Because unfortunately, some still don't understand why people don't appreciate their illnesses being the butt of jokes. We get labeled "over-sensitive" and "touchy" for wanting our illnesses to be left alone, for them to be used right and with respect. Holly Bourne aimed, and she scored with this message. The ending was really good up until the epilogue. That ruined it a bit. A lot of the side characters are really underdeveloped. They all seem to have their own issues, but they are never really explored since this is the main character's Evie's story so by the end I'm like ARE THEY OK?

Do we really need more YA books where girls turn against each other? Make catty remarks to other girls while friends stand around and try to contain their giggles. It's so cute to use your 'superior' intellect to make another girl the butt of your 'feminist' joke. I made a promise earlier this year that if a book made an epilepsy joke I would immediately DNF it. Epilepsy jokes aren't funny. Do you know what it's like to wonder if your mum will wake up with brain damage? If she will even remember you? If she will even wake up? My single mother was diagnosed with grand mal seizures almost five years ago. I was 14 at the time. I was a baby. I had to call an ambulance and talk to a paramedic while helping my mum. This wasn't her first seizure (that had been when I was 10), but it was the one that started the beginning of her epilepsy. I wanted to love this book, and although there was so much I did love, there were also parts that had me wanting to pull my hair out. Young Adult fiction takes over the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2018". Edinburgh Festival. 12 July 2018 . Retrieved 3 September 2018. Another thing I loved: it was funny. So funny. Dark, self-deprecating humor is my jam, it's my chosen method of dealing with difficult situations and this book did it so well. I was in love with the banter between characters and Evie's monologue. There were so many other direct quotes I could have inserted too, because I truly highlighted enough to fill an entire review, but you get the point.