Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Faking Normal

Author: Courtney C. Stevens
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: ebook
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 3.5 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***  


Synopsis from Goodreads:

Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

My Review:

I’ve been really into contemporary lately. But I’m the type of person who likes a darker, issue-driven contemporary so this book sounded like it was right up my alley. This book handles a really tough topic: rape. A young girl, Alexi, was raped over the summer, but she’s too ashamed to tell anybody. She scratches the back of her neck to the point of bleeding to cope with the trauma of this event. I think that the author handled this topic extremely well. She shows how rape affects a person both physically and mentally, crippling them and making it difficult to move on with their life. I really liked that the author showed what a big deal it is and that it’s not something to simply brush off. Well done, Ms. Stevens.

I also really liked the subtle touch of religion. It’s not by any means a huge part of the story and if you’re not religious don’t let that stop you from reading this book. But Alexi’s family goes to church every Sunday and is very involved in church events and activities. I really liked this aspect as I myself am religious and don’t think that we see enough of it in YA.

While Alexi is trying to deal with her traumatic event, another young boy, Bodee, is dealing with his own. This is not a spoiler. You literally find this out in the first chapter. Bodee’s father killed his mother so he is recovering from that. Alexi’s parents take Bodee in so he has a place to live and Alexi forms a close friendship with him. I loved their slow-moving relationship. Neither of them wants to jump into anything and I loved that. Bodee is sweet, respectful, and quite observant. He sees things that Alexi’s own family doesn’t see. I loved how he gently pushes Alexi into dealing with her tragedy.

However, I didn’t like that Bodee didn’t seem to deal with his own tragedy. His mother just died very violently and he never seems to deal with it. He just seems okay with it. If this happened to me, I would be a wreck and honestly, the last thing I would be able to do is help somebody else with their own trauma. I almost felt like the only reason that the author had his mother die was so that he would have an excuse to live with the Litrell’s. This could have been accomplished some other way.

I was also really upset that nobody in Alexi’s family noticed that anything was wrong. She was withdrawn and really not herself. Her friends noticed and commented on it. So why didn’t her parents? I felt like with the way the family seemed so closely knit, her parents would have noticed something was off.

I also figured out who the rapist was and who Captain Lyric (a guy who writes lyrics on Alexi’s desk in 4^th period) were immediately. I hate when I figure it out right from the start. I think that this book had a lot of positives and a few negatives. If you want to read a book that handles a tough topic really well then this one might be for you. I enjoyed it for the most part, but thought that certain aspects could have been done better. Happy reading all!

Have you read this one? What did you think of Alexi and Bodee's relationship? Do you think that Bodee needed to deal with his mother's death more? What did you think of Alexi's relationship with her family?