Two boys. Two secrets.
David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth – David wants to be a girl.
On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not part of that plan.
When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long…
Source: Goodreads
I really liked this book. It is only this year that I have taken up my habit of not putting a book down until I finish it, once I have started it and this book is one reason I brought that habit back.
The main reason this book got to me is because it is pure and honest. To some it might not be the most accurate depiction of what transgenders to through on a daily basis or even cover half of the problems and triumphs faced, but does it have to be? Not everyone's story is alike and this rather simple story touched me right away. Not only because it covers issues that I am engaged in, but because it feels like this book tackles them in an easy enough way for anyone to grasp. There are enough information in it to make it trustworthy and credible but it doesn't over shower the reader with complicated terminology to a point where you have to put the book down and open Google on your phone to understand (which sadly enough has happened).
The majority of the characters in 'The Art of Being Normal' feel very genuine. Especially David's best friends, Essie and Felix, but also his therapist Jenny. But there are also several smaller characters whose development feels so honest that I can't help but think they have been taken from the real world and put onto the page. This especially palpable when they are encountered with the protagonist's sexual identity for the first time.
Transphobia is an important subject to not only acknowledge, but also openly talk about. I think Lisa Williamson managed to not only bring it up without making it cliché or painstakingly technical to read, but also add quite a few nuances to what David goes through mentally, but also at school, at home and around friends.
Thinking back, this would have been a perfect addition to the list of books my year was encouraged to read in secondary school.
