Normal People follows the relationship of high school classmates Connell and Marianne, as they move from high school to college and their relationship evolves along with their changing personalities and circumstances.

I’m really torn about this book. It drew me in right away, and I finished it quickly because I wanted to know how it ended. Having said that, I’m not sure I liked what I read. It struck me as a bit of a dressed up YA book – with so many misunderstandings, so much teen angst, and so many things unsaid (over and over) that it was incredibly frustrating. I found the ending similarly frustrating. To be completely honest, the ended actually made me angry, and that’s pretty unusual.

I was also troubled by the graphic sex and later, masochistic sex and sexual violence, given that these characters were supposed to be in their teens. Maybe it’s because I’m a mom of teen girls, or maybe I just don’t read enough YA books, but whatever it is, I found it disturbing.

This book is has received a lot of acclaim and glowing reviews, but overall, it just didn’t work for me.