Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens → Start Date: March 3rd, 2014

[Katie]

Vicki and I will be reading this. Anyone else is welcome to join.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

if I can manage to get my hands on it, I'd love to join you guys! Fingers crossed I can!

[Angela]

I will try to join. My library has to order copies though. >:| I'm hearing so many good things about this!

[Katie]

I hope you guys are able to join. I'm excited to read this book.

[Katie]

Are you ready to start this tomorrow?

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

I think I am going to make a last minute decision to hop on in. I hope we love it! :D

[Katie]

Awesome. I hope we love it too. It looks really good.

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

It does! 4.16 average rating. WOW!

[Angela]

I can't. :( My library doesn't have copies in yet. They ordered but just haven't arrived yet I guess.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

awww!!! we'll miss you Angela! Jump in when they get them!!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Katie wrote: "Are you ready to start this tomorrow?"

YES! I'll pick this one up tomorrow! I can't wait!

[Angela]

Trisha wrote: "awww!!! we'll miss you Angela! Jump in when they get them!!"

Definitely! I'm crossing my fingers it's soon!

[Vicki]

I'm excited to read this one. Hey Trisha! I've missed you and our used to be chats BEFORE you moved to GA. LOL

Hope all is well with you. Glad we are doing a buddy read together too! :o)

[Katie]

I've read the first 5 chapters, and I'm really liking this so far.

Alexi (view spoiler)[She is clearly in a lot of pain from something that happened to her. She is struggling to cope, and she scratches her neck a lot. I hope that she will begin to heal more. (hide spoiler)]

Bodee (view spoiler)[What happened with his parents was horrible. He seems like he's a really good guy and caring, and he definitely didn't deserve to go through such a loss. I can see a friendship forming between him and Alexi, so hopefully they can help each other. (hide spoiler)]

Alexi's parents (view spoiler)[They asked Bodee to move in with them, so they seem like caring and good people. They don't seem to notice that anything is wrong with Alexi, though. (hide spoiler)]

Heather and Liz (view spoiler)[They seem like good friends to Alexi, even though Heather does try too hard to set Alexi up on a date with a guy when she makes it clear that she isn't interested. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Vicki wrote: "I'm excited to read this one. Hey Trisha! I've missed you and our used to be chats BEFORE you moved to GA. LOL

Hope all is well with you. Glad we are doing a buddy read together too! :o)"

aww! I know, I miss our chats too! When it seemed like we were the only ones still up late enough and on here! LOL!

[Katie]

I've read through chapter 10 now, and I am loving this book so much. It is so powerful and emotional.

Alexi's and Bodee's friendship (view spoiler)[I love the friendship that is forming between these two. It is tentative and unsure, but they both care about each other. It seems like they really need each other. (hide spoiler)]

Bodee (view spoiler)[I thought it was so sweet of him when he offered to go to the dance so he could look out for Alexi if she needed him. (hide spoiler)]

Hayden (view spoiler)[I don't really like him that much. He doesn't seem too bad, but he is drinking and dancing with his ex at homecoming when Alexi is his date. Also, he said something pretty insensitive about rape, and though he clearly didn't know what had happened to Alexi, he still shouldn't have said it. (hide spoiler)]

Heather (view spoiler)[Now Hayden is the 2nd guy that she's set Alexi up with in the first 10 chapters alone. I feel like she needs to stop setting up these dates. Other than that, I like her character. (hide spoiler)]

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

I am also done 5 chapters and the spoilers Katie posted are exactly what I was thinking! I am really enjoying this so far and am interested to find out some things.

I want to know (view spoiler)[ What is bothering Alexi? The actual details of how Bodee's mother died. Why doesn't Alexi find someone to help her? I think Alexi and Bodee will end up becoming really close friends that can help each other cope with hard times in life. (hide spoiler)]

Heather (view spoiler)[She seems like an okay friend. She is annoying, trying to set Alexi up with guys when you can tell she isn't interested. (hide spoiler)]

Can't wait to read more!

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Now done 10 chapters as well. This book is awesome!

I also love (view spoiler)[ the relationship forming between Alexi and Bodee. I really enjoy both of their characters and think Bodee is so sweet. I loved it when her offered to go to the dance so he could just look over Alexi to make sure everything is okay. (hide spoiler)]

Hayden (view spoiler)[ I can't stand him. Alexi is your date, not Janna. I also thought how insensitive he was about rape was strange and he should really think about what he is saying even if he didn't know what happened to Alexi. (hide spoiler)]

Heather (view spoiler)[ I don't really like her. All her setting up Alexi with boy crap has got to end. She is annoying! There are some scenes I do like her in though. (hide spoiler)]

I am LOVING this so far!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

UGH! OH NO!!!

My husband took library books back today and picked up more and HE PUT THIS BOOK IN THE RETURN PILE AND BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE LIBRARY!!!!

Ugh!! I'm second in line now :( fingers crossed it get this back asap!

[Angela]

That's horrible! I'm sorry! :(

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

bleh. I'm so bummed :(

and it's hard to get mad at him, ya know? he thought he was helping me out with a book I forgot to put in my library bag...

I hope the people currently with the book read fast
:(

[Angela]

Aw, well that was nice of him. :)

I hope they do! Fingers crossed for you!

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

That is horrible! Sorry to hear that but yeah it is hard to get mad at him since he was trying to do you a favor. Hope you get it back speedy quick! :D

I am now 15 chapters done! I am still loving it!

I am loving (view spoiler)[Alexi's and Bodee's relationship! It is so wonderful! I love reading about them and the end of chapter 15 was SO SWEET. "His thumb is in the air," meaning he won't let anything hurt her. AW. (hide spoiler)]

Bodee's mom (view spoiler)[Wow, it was hard reading about the time when Bodee saw his father kill his mother. He wants to tell the police/lawyer so they can lock him up but he can't talk in front of anyone other than Alexi really. He wants to tell them but he can't. Just like at his mother's funeral. (hide spoiler)]

I will probably finish this wonderful book tomorrow!

[Vicki]

Oh no Trisha! I feel for your hubby cuz if he's anything like my husband he was just literally trying to help and probably feels terrible! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I'm still 7th in the queue for Cress! Ugh

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Well I couldn't put this down and I just finished!

I absolutely LOVED it. Can't wait until we are all done and we can discuss this beautiful book!

Wow. (:

[Vicki]

Haha! I haven't even gotten my book yet!

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Haha! I really hope you enjoy it. I can't stop thinking about it. Such an amazing book.

[Vicki]

I saw you read like 500 pages today? Wow!!!

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Yup! It was a very good reading day for me! I also got to read this wonderful book (now in my top ten favorite books) so that made today all the greater!

[Vicki]

I don't even know what it's about. LOL

[Katie]

I've read through chapter 15 now. I'm glad you loved it. I'm loving it right now, so I'm sure I'll love it just as much when I read the rest of it.

Bodee (view spoiler)[He is such a sweet guy. It is horrible that he had to watch his dad kill his mom. It would be really hard for him to testify about it, I'm sure. (hide spoiler)]

Kayla (view spoiler)[I feel like sometimes she's mean to Alexi, like after the thing with Hayden, and then other times she's more caring towards her sister. I don't know what to think of her. (hide spoiler)]

Hayden (view spoiler)[I don't like him. It was not right of him to basically force her to go on another date with him by making a threat against Bodee. He claims he likes her, but if he really does, he wouldn't do something like that. (hide spoiler)]

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Vicki wrote: "I don't even know what it's about. LOL"

I didn't know either going into it. (:

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Since I am finished I am going to wait to respond to spoilers because I don't want to accidentally give anything away since I am not sure what happened in what chapter.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

yay! bless the fast readers who had the book! My copy is ready AGAIN at the library! I'll jump over there in a few hours and go pick it up!!! :D

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Trisha wrote: "yay! bless the fast readers who had the book! My copy is ready AGAIN at the library! I'll jump over there in a few hours and go pick it up!!! :D"

WOW! They were really fast! YAY! Hope you enjoy!

[Vicki]

Lucky you, Trisha! I'm 1st in the queue and still don't have my copy!

[Katie]

I finished this today, and I loved it so much. It really is such an amazing book.

the rapist (view spoiler)[I had gone into this knowing that the rapist was Craig, and not Collie, because I had read a spoiler online. That didn't detract from my reading experience at all. It just made me have mixed feelings about Craig, since he seemed like a good guy at first, but I knew he wasn't. By the end, I didn't like him at all anymore. What he did to Alexi was awful, and he should have known that saying he was sorry couldn't just fix it. (hide spoiler)]

Bodee (view spoiler)[I love his character so much. He is such a sweet guy. He has plenty of emotional baggage of his own, yet he is still able to help Alexi through all her struggles. I was rooting for him and Alexi to become a couple, because they are so perfect for each other. (hide spoiler)]

Alexi (view spoiler)[I am glad she told her sister the truth. Telling people was probably an important step on her way to healing. (hide spoiler)]

Kayla (view spoiler)[I am glad that she believed Alexi and made Craig leave. She had been in fights with her sister, but she was there for her when it was important. (hide spoiler)]

Captain Lyric (view spoiler)[I was hoping it was Bodee, and I never wanted it to be Hayden. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

There is a rapist?

[Katie]

Oops, I hope that wasn't a spoiler. I guessed it from the Goodreads description before reading. It doesn't directly say it, but I thought it was kind of implied.

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

I agree with ALL of your spoilers, Katie!

Sorry to hear you were spoiled prior to reading but nonetheless, I am ecstatic you enjoyed this!

[Katie]

Well, it was my fault because the spoiler was hidden and I clicked to view it. I have trouble not clicking hidden spoilers sometimes.

[Vicki]

It's all right Katie. I'm just teasing you, but I didn't know. My book still hasn't arrived and I have NO idea what this book is about except now I know there's a rapist. Lol No biggie.

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Katie wrote: "Well, it was my fault because the spoiler was hidden and I clicked to view it. I have trouble not clicking hidden spoilers sometimes."

That's what I do my hardest to stay away from reviews before reading books. (:

[Vicki]

I know, I know! But I hate missing anything! Lol

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Vicki wrote: "I know, I know! But I hate missing anything! Lol"

I still read reviews because I can't not but I never click "view spoiler." I can't stand spoilers!

[Vicki]

Oh I NEVER click spoiler!!!! Not until I've read that section!

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Vicki wrote: "Oh I NEVER click spoiler!!!! Not until I've read that section!"

Me neither! I don't like to ruin books for myself!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

I'm finishing my current book then starting this one!

[Vicki]

Still haven't gotten my book :(

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Trisha wrote: "I'm finishing my current book then starting this one!"

Awesome!