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nibs's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I really liked it. It's a simple yet emotive story about friendship & self-discovery.
Peta's voice is really clear and the author does a great job at communicating her inner thoughts. I care about the characters in this book.
I think it would be a very different experience for readers who don't know about neurodiversity and the the social model of disability. With that knowledge, you can see from the start how reliant Peta is on masking all the time (the book literally has 'rating normal' in its title) and how many people in her life have encouraged high masking behaviour and suppressing her neurodivergent traits. Understanding this made me feel happy for Peta that by the end of the book she's exploring who she is unmasked and how to approach her life. But for readers who don't have this broader context, I wonder how they'd feel - would they be confused? Would they empathise and gain knowledge from Peta's experience? Maybe they're like Sam and Jeb - don't entirely get Peta but love and support her regardless.
Peta's voice is really clear and the author does a great job at communicating her inner thoughts. I care about the characters in this book.
I think it would be a very different experience for readers who don't know about neurodiversity and the the social model of disability. With that knowledge, you can see from the start how reliant Peta is on masking all the time (the book literally has 'rating normal' in its title) and how many people in her life have encouraged high masking behaviour and suppressing her neurodivergent traits.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sophstar's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Homophobia
nate_gray's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
the first few chapters of this book are pretty cute and entertaining, however it goes from 0 to 100 real quick. and not in a good way.
I feel like this book relied on pure shock factor <like petas suicide attempt and jeb's dads behavior> to make the story interesting. this book could have been a wonderful opportunity for the author to represent the difficulties that neurodivergent people face, however it did quite the opposite. if I didn't know any better, I would have thought that the writer of this book was neurotypical and straight - nothing was explained or represented well. tragic for the sake of tragic.
I feel like this book relied on pure shock factor <like petas suicide attempt and jeb's dads behavior> to make the story interesting. this book could have been a wonderful opportunity for the author to represent the difficulties that neurodivergent people face, however it did quite the opposite. if I didn't know any better, I would have thought that the writer of this book was neurotypical and straight - nothing was explained or represented well. tragic for the sake of tragic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia
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