Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Jay
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About The Book
Jordan and Nathan couldn’t be more different, but when order and chaos collide, opposites attract. Jordan is a bit of an oddball at school. He likes rules, routine, old sci-fi novels, and is often the victim of his bully’s torment. When new student Nathan joins the school, he wears down Jordan’s walls and, with his love, empowers Jordan to stand up for himself.
Nathan’s parents are going through divorce, and at a new school in a new city Jordan provides him with the stability he can’t find at home. Through their friendship and eventually their romance, Jordan embraces his newfound self-confidence and proclaims his love for Nathan in front of the school. Each is just what the other needs.
Not Not Normal shows readers that sometimes the qualities we need most can be found in and learned from the friends around us. We just need to let them in. Embracing your differences and facing the unknown can be scary, but with true friends and support, you can handle just about anything.
The Review
This is a delightful story about two students at a secondary school in Toronto. Jordan has always had panic attacks and since the death of his mother has also had a kind of OCD. He is bullied at school until Nathan arrives. Nathan has moved from Montreal since his father left his mother. He is gay, out and proud, and is fascinated by Jordan. Together they deal with the worst of Jordan’s problems and collaborate with other friends on a play written by Jordan.
The characters, major and minor, are well developed and the school seems very real. The slowly growing romance is sweet and Jordan seems by the end to be well on the way to, if not recovery, at least accepting his issues and making the best of them…
The short novel deals sensitively with differences, with grief, and with romantic feelings. It is beautifully written and would be an ideal novel for any teenagers who feel different in any way.
I would recommend it as a holiday gift.
5 stars.
The Reviewer
I’ve been doing book reviews on my website, crossposted or linked to various social media, for a few years. I read a number of genres but I really enjoy all kinds of speculative fiction so thought I’d like to share my views with you. I love sci fi and other speculative fiction because of the way it can, at its best, make us see ourselves in a new light. Quite apart from the exciting stories, of course! I used to be an English teacher, and I’m a writer (fantasy) so I can be quite critical about style etc. but I hope I can also appreciate properly some books that don’t appeal to me personally but might be simply perfect for others. I have, obviously, read widely, and continue to do so.
