Cassandra Truth: Leo's mother claims his father abandoned her when she was still pregnant, which Leo scoffs at. This unfortunately turns out to be true. The Art of Being Normal is the story of a transgender character named David, and his journey to finally telling his family (and the rest of the world) that he wishes to be referred to as Kate, and would like to begin transitioning. The book alternates between [both characters'] viewpoints, but readers don’t find out what they have in common until Leo’s burgeoning romance gets derailed. . . . Debut author Williamson does a good job of depicting British class realities and [the characters'] struggles with family, bullying, friendship, and bravery. While the book doesn’t sugarcoat the difficulty of being a trans teen, it offers hope and the sense that even if you can’t get everything you want, you can get what you need.” — Publishers Weekly

Leo is the new kid school and his attempt to stay as invisible as possible fails when he steps in and stands up for David in a fight. David is insistent in becoming friends with him but Leo moved schools for a reason and David is set to become the only person to know the real truth of why. Fourteen-year-old David Piper has only told two people – his two best friends, Essie and Fox, who have both been incredibly supportive – that he has wanted, needed, to be a girl ever since he was a small child. David has written a letter to his parents explaining how he feels but cannot bring himself to give it to them. He already suspects that they think he's gay, but he's not ready tell them the whole story just yet. And he's certainly not going to tell anyone else at school – he's already being called a freak show. David meets newcomer Leo Denton on his first day at Eden Park School. He walks over to him even though Leo doesn't seem to want to talk to anyone at all, let alone make friends. When the school bully just won't leave David alone, Leo steps in, and now David just has to get to know him. But Leo's had to move schools for a reason and David's about to be the first one to discover why. En sí la novela no es para nada predecible. Me gustó muchísimo que no se centrara en una historia de amor sino que se centre en la evolución de una joven transexual y en cómo afronta el serlo día a día. Y no solo su evolución, sino el de todos los personajes que lo rodean y tienen que hacerse a la idea. Además me gustó que los personajes fueran tan reales y que ambos protagonistas no sean para nada predecibles. An inspiring novel about two transgender friends who help each other navigate the ups and downs of teenage life. And just the struggle of being a kid these days…honestly. I sometimes can’t believe how hard it is to grow up nowadays. Never mind growing up being a little different than the other kids in school. I get fiercely protective of those being bullied…reading it makes my stomach tie up in knots and I want to crawl into my Kindle and make it right. Yeah…this book was a bit of a punch in the gut for me.Also, David uses he/him pronouns throughout the whole book which I guess goes with the whole 'wants to be a girl' thing. As for Leo, he had a hard upbringing with a mother ignoring him most the time and not having a real connection with any of his siblings, even his twin. He's a loner, loves being alone and claims not to need friends. But that's without David stumbling into his life and refusing to leave. What the Hell, Hero?: Leo gets one from his aunt Kerry upon returning from his brief escapade to Kent. The Bully: Harry Beaumont has been tormenting Kate since they were small children. Alex Bonner is a darker example towards Leo.

Half-Identical Twins: An interesting case here: Amber and Leo were born a set of identical twin girls, but Leo (born Megan) never identified as such. The Art of Being Normal was not what I had expected. I would say that this is a good introduction for someone who wants to know more about life as a transgender kid and adolescent. It is a heartfelt novel, for sure, but not a perfect one. Even Leo misgendered Kate and called her David all the time, which I found kind all kinds of problematic, for reasons you might understand in the next point. Trans Relationship Troubles: Leo gets rejected by his crush after coming out and then gets Forced Out of the Closet by his crush's friends. I'm Chiara, & welcome to Books for a Delicate Eternity! Here you’ll find posts on books, reading, life, art, & things in between (like cats).

One of my only major vices with the book is that it started by jumping straight in with David proclaiming 'I want to be a girl.' but after that, it diverted and the beginning of the book mainly focussed on Leo and his growing relationship in the new school and I felt like Davids story became a little sidelined. Though we went through about his notebook and his secrets in his room, I felt like we didn't really get to know him until around halfway through the book when he opened up to Leo. At that point, I felt he opened up to us as well. I also wasn't really sure what the book was going to be about until it Leo's secret was also revealed. It was at that point when I became really invested. Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: What Leo firmly believes for most of the book, but ultimately and heart-breakingly subverted. Anger Born of Worry: Aunt Kerry gives Leo a slap and furiously chews him out when he comes home after having been missing for two days. Oh, this is one cute diversity read! I highly recommend this if you love Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda! Overall, I did like The Art of Being Normal, although I felt like some things weren’t presented as well as they could have been. If you’re looking for your first book about a trans character, or you simply devour any and all LGBTQIA+ books, then I would still say give The Art of Being Normal a go.