readsbykels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Minor: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Cursing, Classism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Drug use, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Death, Alcoholism, and Body shaming
lunar_witch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Torture, Addiction, Alcohol, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Grief, Abortion, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
mesposito827's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Bullying
Minor: Abortion and Addiction
cdoubet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Body horror, Cursing, Grief, and Rape
pageafter_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Classism, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming
paulaks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is A LOT while being quite uneventful. Being character driven, it follows 2 characters over 4 years. Documenting my life for that long would be the most boring piece of literature but Connell and Marianne are SO complicated and traumatized. That has to be my first warning: The amount of triggers that are passively talked about is worrying. Please check those before reading (I tried to list some). Overall the reading experience was quite intense. Since there are no quotation marks, the thoughts, storytelling and conversations blend in together which can be confusing but makes for a really intriguing experience. The writing style was 10/10 so no need to continue on that.
Honestly, you can categorize the people that read this novel by their rating into two groups: The group that didn´t build a connection, were annoyed or angry or aren´t empathetic (= ratings lower than 2.5). And the ones who identified themselves with character traits or are just really empathetic (= rating 2.5+). Just a little thesis of mine, don´t take it to seriously. But what you should take serious is the fact that if you can´t build any connection with one of the MCs by the 50% mark, there is little to no point in reading this. I was quite invested so here´s my experience: Their decision-making had me on my toes, even tho the way they continued making wrong choices was exhausting. But it´s definitely interesting how trauma can shape a human being. This aspect shocked me a few times and made me question my own behaviour.
Lastly, the title choice is well done. Who is normal? Are we normal people? Do we want to be normal people? At least I was trying to answer that question.
My rating right now would be a 4 star. The potential was there and maybe I´m the problem but sometimes there were illogical moments and situations that made me uncomfortable (most of the time with Marianne). As you can guess by my long review, this is a great book for a group discussion but be aware that this would reveal a lot of personal stuff since Normal people is an intimate story.
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Classism, Drug use, Abortion, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Blood, Eating disorder, and Gaslighting
clairvoyant11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Bullying
Minor: Addiction, Grief, and Death
samjesperw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Emotional abuse
sierrabedwell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Spoiler
they didn’t even end up together??Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Classism, Death, Physical abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
lomis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Addiction