A Gripping Novel That
Showcases the Other Side of Teen
Pregnancy:
She was smart, well-liked and about to start her senior year.
She was smart, well-liked and about to start her senior year.
But now she has a secret to
keep hidden and a broken heart in need of healing.
Rating: 9.0/10.0
Teen pregnancy, we all have an opinion on it. Whether we believe it's from teens with totally lax values, to teens who make a one-time mistake we all have feelings on this heated subject. I know I had certain ideas going into this book and after reading it I have definitely been rethinking where I was coming from.
Sophie is a good girl, she attends church and has made her purity vow and despite all the wishing to the contrary she is pregnant. What Anything But Normal gives the reader is her story. We see the world through her eyes from her own beliefs about pregnancy and the girls who are pregnant at her school to how others begin to see her. We see all the sides. Should we cast out a pregnant girl or should we support her. If we support her are we supporting looser morals. All of these questions are looked at and handled in a wonderful way.
Whereas this subject is heavy (and the book definitely treats it as a heavy subject), the book reads quickly and I could not put it down. It was interesting seeing it from Sophie's angle and how not everyone fits into our slots that we decide to put them in. Sophie struggles quite a bit and her struggle is fascinating to watch. The reactions of those around her are too. I absolutely loved the character of Wes and how he is a great male character. This book doesn't make either gender out to be the bad one. All make mistakes and like in life - we all make mistakes, just some of them are seen more than others.
The Biblical basis behind Ms. Carlson's work stands true and her message is one of love and forgiveness just as Jesus did. It's also one of responsibility which is something that often gets shuffled out of the way these days.
All-in-all Anything But Normal is an amazing read. Sophie, her parents, and her friends make great characters and hardly any character is the book remains the same at the end as they were in the beginning - there is growth and learning in all of them. Don't expect preachiness in this book at all - it's straightforward and believable without being over-the-top with the message - I truly believe the message you come out with from this book is what you make of it. I took a lot away from it - especially the you need to walk a mile in someones shoes to understand what they are going through. Another one that comes through is how wrong it is to judge others. These are wonderful messages that should control our life more. And again responsibility is also a big part of this book so it is not lost amongst the lessons of love and forgiveness.
I think my only real problem with this one was things were a little hurried at the end, I would have liked to have known more, but everything was tied up really well, so the ending is left completely up in the air.
Read it and see, but I think Anything But Normal will not disappoint if you want a thought-provoking and entertaining young adult book dealing with a tough subject. Good for parents and teens alike - I can see a lot of good discussion points that can come out of this one.
Favorite Quote:
Characterization: 1.75/2.0
Plot: 1.75/2.0
Writing: 1.75/2.0
Attention-holding: 1.0/1.0
Ending: 0.75/1.0
Believable: 1.0/1.0
Genre: 1.0/1.0
Rating: 9.0/10.0
Teen pregnancy, we all have an opinion on it. Whether we believe it's from teens with totally lax values, to teens who make a one-time mistake we all have feelings on this heated subject. I know I had certain ideas going into this book and after reading it I have definitely been rethinking where I was coming from.
Sophie is a good girl, she attends church and has made her purity vow and despite all the wishing to the contrary she is pregnant. What Anything But Normal gives the reader is her story. We see the world through her eyes from her own beliefs about pregnancy and the girls who are pregnant at her school to how others begin to see her. We see all the sides. Should we cast out a pregnant girl or should we support her. If we support her are we supporting looser morals. All of these questions are looked at and handled in a wonderful way.
Whereas this subject is heavy (and the book definitely treats it as a heavy subject), the book reads quickly and I could not put it down. It was interesting seeing it from Sophie's angle and how not everyone fits into our slots that we decide to put them in. Sophie struggles quite a bit and her struggle is fascinating to watch. The reactions of those around her are too. I absolutely loved the character of Wes and how he is a great male character. This book doesn't make either gender out to be the bad one. All make mistakes and like in life - we all make mistakes, just some of them are seen more than others.
The Biblical basis behind Ms. Carlson's work stands true and her message is one of love and forgiveness just as Jesus did. It's also one of responsibility which is something that often gets shuffled out of the way these days.
All-in-all Anything But Normal is an amazing read. Sophie, her parents, and her friends make great characters and hardly any character is the book remains the same at the end as they were in the beginning - there is growth and learning in all of them. Don't expect preachiness in this book at all - it's straightforward and believable without being over-the-top with the message - I truly believe the message you come out with from this book is what you make of it. I took a lot away from it - especially the you need to walk a mile in someones shoes to understand what they are going through. Another one that comes through is how wrong it is to judge others. These are wonderful messages that should control our life more. And again responsibility is also a big part of this book so it is not lost amongst the lessons of love and forgiveness.
I think my only real problem with this one was things were a little hurried at the end, I would have liked to have known more, but everything was tied up really well, so the ending is left completely up in the air.
Read it and see, but I think Anything But Normal will not disappoint if you want a thought-provoking and entertaining young adult book dealing with a tough subject. Good for parents and teens alike - I can see a lot of good discussion points that can come out of this one.
Favorite Quote:
"I don't see why people have to label everything." Wes sighed. "I mean, instead of just being one thing or another, maybe we need to be better informed--and come to our own conclusions."Rating Breakdown:
Characterization: 1.75/2.0
Plot: 1.75/2.0
Writing: 1.75/2.0
Attention-holding: 1.0/1.0
Ending: 0.75/1.0
Believable: 1.0/1.0
Genre: 1.0/1.0
Rating: 9.0/10.0
Melody Carlson is able to write to teenaged girls in
ways that tap into their greatest hopes, fears and struggles and, through the
tales of her beloved characters that quickly become like BFFs, help readers
make sense of the confusing and complicated world around them.
Sophie is your normal, average high-school girl who attends church and gets good grades. The summer is wrapping up and while she should be counting down the days to the start of her senior year, she’s anything but excited. What Sophie’s in need of right now is a fresh start.
While her best friends are worried about what to wear and the cutest guy in school, Sophie’s got bigger concerns—like the secret she’s keeping about what happened this summer. She’s about to find out that she won't be able to keep things under wraps much longer.
In this page-turning novel, Carlson offers readers a realistic and heartwrenching vantage point into the messy and emotional world of teen pregnancy. Readers can relate with Sophie who just wants to be normal and loved, but now must figure out how to deal with the consequences of what has happened.
Melody
Carlson is the
award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them
Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The
Christmas Bus. She also writes many teen books, including Just Another
Girl, Anything but Normal, the Diary of a Teenage Girl series,
the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series. Melody was
nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the
inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet
series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime
Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee
in central Oregon
For more information, visit
www.RevellBooks.com.
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