Faking Normal – Courtney C. Stevens

Faking Normal is a very heart wrenching, gut punching story, but one that everyone should read at some point. It tells the story of Alexi who is dealing with something horrible that happened to her recently, but like my teens facing horrible situations she doesn’t really know how to deal. Her family is preoccupied with her sister’s upcoming wedding and their lives in general so they don’t notice the harm she is causing to herself. Yes she has friends but she hides the situation from them easily as they are normal teens that overlook things that don’t directly affect them. The only thing that really keeps her from going crazy is her closet, the counting of vent spaces in her ceiling, and Captain Lyric. Captain Lyric is a mysterious person that uses the same desk as Alexi, on a daily basis that writes to each other through music lyrics. Alexi thinks he could be her saving grace, but then the Kool-Aid kid surfaces.

The Kool-Aid kid also known as Bodee has his own problems but he still sees that something is not right with Alexi and she needs help before it is too late. When he comes to live with Alexi and her family, due to his own situation, he gets Alexi talking and gives her the courage to finally tell her family what happened so she can get the help she needs.

I will admit I had guessed the cause of Alexi’s depression, but I had no clue as to the person that caused the depression. I was ready to crawl into the book and hurt someone on Alexi’s behalf.  By then end of this book I was crying tears of irritation over the hideous circumstances that the last person you would expect put Alexi in. Tears of happiness that Bodee and Alexi were able to help each other with their situations and tears of relief that Alexi was getting the help she needs.  

This book is one of the absolute best debuts that I have ever had the chance to read. Courtney Stevens has a way with words that many just can’t pull off. She really seems to understand the way teen’s minds work and can sound like she is speaking from their mind with ease.  Her writing style is wonderful and I look forward to reading many more stories from her.

5/5