Normal People by Sally Rooney

From Goodreads

At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.

My thoughts

I got a copy of this via BorrowBox which is an app that allows you to borrow ebooks from the Library. I had seen this book around and fancied seeing for myself what all the hype was about. This book has also been turned into a drama series and I have yet to see that.

I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10. It was an interesting read in many ways. It brought back to me feelings that I had as a teenager and coming to terms with the changes to my body as I morphed from my teens into young adulthood and all the problems that came with the teenage years, as you come to terms with both the physical and emotional changes that occur. 

I quite enjoyed this slow burner of a story that tells us about the developing relationship between Connell and Marianne, as they took us on a journey of discovery as they changed from young teenagers to young adults and all the trials and tribulations that come with this trying period of our lives. Changing from young teenagers into young adults isn't easy for any of us and it certainly wasn't for this pair. 

By the way you'll notice that some punctuation is lacking, but once you get used to it, it's most definitely not a problem. Well I didn't find it a problem.