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Book summary:
"When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero."
What I thought about it...
I picked up this book thinking: "I need something light for this first hot days of summer." Did I get what I wanted? No. Maja from The Nocturnal Library wrote in her review that cover is "misleading" and I have to agree with her. You would expect hot romance and not the story about young man who is trying to fit in after all horrible things he saw and death of his best friend. Actually, he is not even trying to fit in - Travis is just counting days until the day when he'll leave again. In the meantime, he's making some good and some bad choices and doesn't want to deal with the obvious problem.
What I liked the most? Romantic love is not going to make everything go away and author isn't giving us happily ever after. Travis needs long term medical help to get well and not few steamy dates. Girl helps but in the other way than you might think. I believe that Something Like Normal will enjoy older readers. Teens would probably hate everything that we liked - but they'll grow up pretty soon, understand some things better and start to appreciate different thoughts and ideas about what is important.
What made me angry? Politics. How come that you have no problem with sending eighteen year old boys in to war and make them kill other people, but it is not good idea to let them drink until they are twenty-one?
I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to read something with deeper meaning and what will make them think about what's really important in life.
Until next time,
I'm excited to read this one. I agree -- not every book needs romance. In some books, it just makes no sense, or at least should take a back seat to the main plot.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI think that some authors use it as marketing trick - lot of readers are women and most of them have a weak spot for romantic plots.
OdgovoriIzbriši