Review: Fifteen Seconds of Normal by Alex Marestaing

Book Blurb:

Step 1: Transfer High Schools.

Step 2: Hide your Tourette’s.

Step 3: Find your fifteen seconds of normal.

Kaeya Garay has a plan. And it seems to be working.But when a curious interruption named Thatcher Kelly stumbles upon her “safe” place in the school’s abandoned art gallery, her grand plans for normalcy are suddenly derailed.

Set over the course of three weeks, Fifteen Seconds of Normal is the quirky saga of a literature obsessed teen on the edge of a meltdown and the hope driven heroine who begins to pull him back. Fans of Eleanor and Park be warned. You won’t be able to put this one down.

A “Breakfast Club” for a new generation from EPIC Award finalist Alex Marestaing, author of I’m Nobody: The Lost Pages

My Review:

5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Teen--

Kaeya changed high schools so she can hide her Tourette's, not wanting to be being know as "that girl", and have a chance to be treated just like anyone else. Thatcher is having most likely the worst day of his life, made public by some kids at school. The two of them are forced together by events out of their control, and given an assignment to achieve their 15 seconds of fame. How they choose to do that is up to them.

Sorry if this review is all over the place, and maybe I should not have written this right after finishing the book since my emotions are so close to the surface, but I needed to share my love for this book as soon as I could (in the spirit of the story).

I had no real idea what I was getting into when I started this book, expecting some cute teen story. But that is not at all what I got, in the best way possible. This was an emotional, tear filled (for the characters and me), ride to finding out what love really means. This is probably the best book that I have read this year, and I never even saw it coming. There were sad tears shed for this book, but now that I have experienced the ending, there are happy tears. Gah, I want to own a physical copy of this book so I can randomly hug it and then force/loan it out to all my friends (and even some acquaintances) so they can experience it to.

I know this book is suppose to be about Kaeya and how hard it is with her TS, but can I just say how much I love Thatcher and how he was the best part of the story? He seriously filled my heart with tenderness with his actions towards his sister, his poet's soul, helping his crush when she was ripping out his heart, his desire to be kind regardless of others... I have compiled a large list of what I love about him, too many to name here, but the take home message is that I love him and wanted to squeeze him. Oh and the part about the burning lantern was the absolute best part of the book, a moment of hilarity in the face of heartache.

Yes, Kaeya struggles with her condition and life is hard for her, the author did a good job bringing about her struggles and how hard she battled to attempt to be "normal", the fear of how others would see her, how she uses humor to help in every situation. I think the biggest difference between the two is how Thatcher did not really care about fitting in or being accepted, where as Kaeya dreamed of fitting in and being normal, which she has never had before. She finally realized what love meant at the end, but I wanted her to see so much sooner.

I never saw the impact of this story coming, which probably made it even more so. This was such a well written emotional book and I am so glad I got to experience it. Maybe have some tissues nearby though.

I received this title from the author in return for my honest review.