Pretending Normal by Mary Campisi is a young adult novel about a girl from the 70's dealing with the death of her mom, her alcoholic father, and growing up in general.
First off: Look at that COVER!!! What a beauty! Not sure it had much to do with the book. There are some roses in the book, but who cares! I loved the intricacy of it and it was what absolutely drew me to buy the book.
The character development was very well done. I really felt as though I knew these characters, I could see what they looked like and feel what they felt. My favorite was Ms. O'Grady, a lady with secrets in her past. I won't tell too much as I HATE spoilers. But, she was a beautifully thought out character and I was craving more of her!
The story was simple, yet poignant in it's own way. No vampires, supernatural, werewolves or any of the sort. This was just a good, real, story. I feel as those are few and far between in YA novels anymore. John Green is one of those authors that comes to mind. Though, this novel lacked the humor that John Green's are able to protray.
A few things that bothered me about this novel were the inaccuracies of addiction. Especially alcoholism, which is something that has touched my life. In the book, the father is accused of buying a fifth of whiskey on Monday and finishing it by Wednesday night. The type of alcoholic that Frank is protrayed as is one who drinks every single day. By that time, his tolerance would finish that fifth by the next day at best, most likely that same night. Another problem I had was calling the drug dealing kid a "pusher". Maybe that's what they were called back in the 70's, but to me, that sounds like something a narc would say, not a normal kid. It just rubbed me wrong every time I read it. Like nails on a chalkboard.
Overall, I would give this book four stars out of five. The refreshing simplicity was much needed in midst of a paranormal infused world of YA reading. Bravo, Mary Campisi! You have made me a happy girl! And a bargain at $2.99 for the Kindle, go out and get your copy!!!
Love Much and Read Often....xoxo JA