Something Like Normal - Trish Doller

Title: Something Like Normal

Author: Trish Doller

Release Date: June 19th, 2012, Hardcover

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Group: Young Adult Literature

Rating:★★★★

 

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.

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This book was different than what I was expecting. I thought it would be longer but it's so tiny! I was able to finish it in a day. Also the story was somewhat different than what I thought was going to happen. I usually can predict books fairly well, but I never knew what was going to happen in this one!

Something Like Normal tells the story of Travis. He is a marine and returning home from Afghanistan. He comes home to find out that his brother has stolen his girlfriend and car, and that his parents are on the verge of getting a divorce. Plus he is having nightmares from the death of his best friend, Charlie. His life seems to be falling apart but then he meets Harper.

Harper and Travis have a complicated past. He basically ruined her reputation in middle school. Yeah, that was fun to read about. I also liked how Harper gave Travis a black eye. Harper was instantly likable. She was probably one of my favorite characters out of the book. She is just awesome. I can't think of another word to describe her. She also basically saved Travis to not go completely crazy. Travis was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

This book was just so packed of emotion and feelings. I could feel Travis guilt over his best friend being killed and also how he felt towards Harper. I loved the ending of this book so much. It was probably my favorite part of the whole book. The letter that Travis wrote to Charlie made me tear up a few times. The only thing that bothered me was there were a lot of strong cuss words at times, but it didn't affect me that bad. That is not a point of criticism, just my own personal preference. Other than that, I really enjoyed this 2012 debut! Trish Doller is an author to watch out for! I can tell that we will be receiving more wonderful books from her in the future!

Plot: ★★★★

Characters: ★★★★★

Writing:★★★★

Ending: ★★★★★

Cover: ★★★★