Faking Normal

Faking Normal

by Courtney Stevens

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Synopsis:  Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer by her backyard pool.  Instead, she hides in her closet, counts the slats in the air vent, and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.  

When Brodee Lennox- "the Kool-Aid Kid"-moves in with the Littrells after a family tragedy, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in this quiet, awkward boy who has secrets of his own.  As their friendship grows, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her summon the courage to find her voice and speak up.

from the e-book

Review: I found this book to be too young adult for me.  The relationships that Alexi had with her girlfriends seemed very superficial.  Her supposed best friends really didn't seem to have Alexi's best interests at heart. They didn't seem to notice that Alexi was hurting except for one line in the book when Heather tells Alexi that she can't wait to see her real smile again.  Alexi jumps into a friendship relationship with Bodee after he moves into her house and that seemed unrealistic considering what she and her friends (plus most of the other kids in school) felt about Bodee.  Relationship development in this story just happened too fast for it to seem believable.

As for the major event of the book, the author hints at what happens but spends two thirds of the book leaving us guessing as to what exactly happened.  The author also leads us to believe that one specific character was responsible for Lexi's hurt but yet we find out later that we are wrong (hopefully that didn't spoil the book for us).  By the time we actually find out what exactly happened, I was tired of being strung along.  I didn't give up reading (but I did read another book in the midst of reading this one) because I had to know what really happened but I did end up skimming parts of the story.

Rating; 3 stars