From the Bookshelf of forever and evermore swifties…

Normal People

Sally Rooney

Start date: September 1, 2022

Finish date: October 1, 2022

Why we're reading this: botm for September, which we will be comparing to illicit affairs, tis the damn season, all too well, exi…more
[close] botm for September, which we will be comparing to illicit affairs, tis the damn season, all too well, exile, and sad beautiful tragic

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What Members Thought

Jun 09, 2022 D rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my-red-flags

this is the first time in my whole reading journey where i really don't know what to rate this book or what to comment on. did i love it? did i hate it? i see most people talking about them lacking communication but honestly in my pov they are still young and they are going through their shit too. i feel like they need to fully heal and then find each other again...but at the same time in some way it seems as if they bring the worst in each other even though they portray it otherwise. "i am not ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2021 eerika (taylor's version) rated it liked it

3,5

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2024 hannah ⚘ rated it really liked it

4 stars <3
after reading this i get how its either a hit or miss for everyone who read it. i couldn’t really come up with a proper review after reading it but i just finished the show and yeah that was pretty much a perfect adaptation.
okay i’ll admit, the dialogues were a bit annoying at first. but i kinda got what the author was trying to convey. it reminded me of reading ‘alone with you in the ether’, feeling like you’re in the heads of these characters and the way the thin lines between dial ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2022 zoii rated it did not like it

Shelves: literary-fiction

I recently finished this book and I have no idea how to review it. This was one of the most boring and frustrating book I have ever read. The first half was kinda interesting but not that upto the mark and the second half was profoundly exhausting. I wasn't sure if I would even be able to finish the book. It had no storyline no plot twists nothing. The story was repetitive and disappointing. I am still trying to figure out how this book managed to get so many awards. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 04, 2022 panda rated it really liked it

*3.85

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Mar 23, 2022 evie :) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I will never stop thinking about this book. I finished it in two days and binged the entire Hulu series the next day and both did not disappoint. Sally Rooney's books are very polarizing, you love them or you hate them. Personally, I believe she is a god living amongst us. She is able to portray an accurate relationship with ups and downs without making you absolutely hate either side. The male protagonist, Connell, takes responsibility for his actions and is actually worth liking, unlike most m ...more

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Jun 03, 2022 Chanda Ferguson rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think the main reason I didn’t love this book because I wanted it to be something it wasn’t, and that’s on me as a reader, but I also can’t shake the disappointment I felt at the end. *spoilers ahead*

Throughout the book, Marianne and Connell portray honest and accurate depictions of people who struggle with mental health issues and their own versions of traumatic baggage/difficulties. They go through life facing their problems and making choices, trying to figure out who they are and what they I think the main reason I didn’t love this book because I wanted it to be something it wasn’t, and that’s on me as a reader, but I also can’t shake the disappointment I felt at the end. *spoilers ahead*

Throughout the book, Marianne and Connell portray honest and accurate depictions of people who struggle with mental health issues and their own versions of traumatic baggage/difficulties. They go through life facing their problems and making choices, trying to figure out who they are and what they want out of life, which really makes the story relatable. Their insecurities, anxieties, and personal hang-ups are put on display for the readers to analyze.

I think this is what so many people like about the novel, but as someone who struggles with mental health issues, I wanted closure, growth, success, happiness- I wanted hope. I felt like this novel didn’t provide a single aspect of everything is was set up for. It just fell so flat and disappointing because of the ending.

I truly thought at the end, they would realize they were meant to be together or at least sever a tie that they weren’t willing to give a fair chance. They deserved one or the other after everything they’ve been through. This limbo just seems so exhausting and overdone. When you find someone you love and want to spend the rest of your life with them, what’s more important than that?

Maybe it’s the romantic at heart in me, but life is about the small moments, the “in betweens,” the process of getting to where you want to be with that special person, while they are on that journey with you too. They both chose their insecurities over the potential of a fulfilled life together, and for me, that makes this a huge failure because THAT could’ve been the decision to really show character development. Instead, they’re exactly where they started with just more baggage to show for it, and for me, that’s not the depiction of life I want to believe in or read about. This was a huge let-down for me, although it was written extremely well and enjoyable to read along the way. I’ll always root for a love story, and this one caught me up and then just spit me out. I need a happy ending novel next! ...more

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Aug 21, 2022 keerthi rated it it was amazing

the song is Lie To Me by 5SOS (the one with julia michaels)

the time has finally come for me to rank sally rooney's books in order

and the first place goes to....

NORMAL PEOPLE!!!

and 2.) beautiful world, where are you? and lastly, 3.) conversations with friends

this book was just too good, i mean it prob has some weird, questionable stuff too but ig that's how sally rooney writes and i don't have a problem with it.

if in the future, sally rooney makes a revelation that she has some sort of secret hum ...more

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Jan 17, 2022 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: favs

3.5 starts just because the communication between Connell and Marianne made me want to punch a hole in the wall. also i feel like the book didn’t really end, it’s just like another chapter. but overall i loved it and found myself relating to both of them in a way.

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