Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Title: Something Like Normal

Author: Trish Doller

Release Date: 19th June 2012

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

In A Nutshell:
Trish Doller has crafted what I perceive to be a realistic portrayal of young returned servicemen who are struggling to cope with readjusting to the ‘real world’. I loved Something Like Normal and felt so much love for it while turning the pages and upon finishing it. Sometimes you just feel something for a book that words can’t properly describe. Something Like Normal is one of those books for me.

My Review:
Twenty-year-old Travis has returned home to Florida for a short break after 18 months in Afghanistan with the Marines. However, his trip homes doesn't end up being much of a 'break' with all the family drama he comes back to. His super-proud mum is grateful to have her son home and alive and is so desperate to help and be part of his life again that she is rather overbearing. It’s totally understandable, but a little too much for Travis to handle. But with her son home and with his support, Travis’s mum finally has the strength to do something about her husband’s infidelity. His brother, who is dating Travis’s ex-girlfriend, who broke up with him in a Dear John letter, is pretty indifferent to his return yet his ex, Paige, can’t stop sneaking back into his bed for night time visits. And Travis’s father, as an ex-football player, has never respected or supported Travis since he quit football, something he never liked and was mostly under the shadow of his father’s championship career. While Travis never intended to join the Marines until the day he signed up (mainly to escape his father), he has become his own person and excelled in his field. Upon his return, now more than ever, Travis and his father butt heads. The difference now is that Travis is big enough to stand up to him. 

While his family is falling apart around him, Travis struggles with PTSD and is haunted by the death of his best friend Charlie, a fellow marine, who keeps appearing and talking to him. With his mind playing tricks on him, Travis keeps this hidden from those around him, desperate to get back to base, and have things go back to ‘normal’. 

Adjusting back home into his old friendship group is harder than expected. His mates are all still hanging around their home town, lazing about and not moving forward with their lives. Travis on the other hand has grown up and experienced and witnessed things the others probably couldn’t even imagine. The usual hometown gossip is of no interest to him and he just wants to get back to base. Home doesn’t feel like home any more.

Thankfully, Travis has a visit from some of the others guys in his platoon. These guys show that everyone handles and processes thing differently and that there is no ‘normal’ way to feel.

And then there’s the girl. Harper was the first girl Travis can remember wanting but after embellishing the truth about supposed events during a ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven’ game with her back when they were 14, Travis blew any hope of Harper ever speaking to him again. The high school rumour mill exploded and Harper’s hatred towards Travis is still as strong as ever six years later. However, after a random meeting and a punch in the face from her, Travis’s luck with Harper begins to change. Harper opens the door for Travis to have a second chance, and perhaps give herself the only real chance she’s ever had. She’s a good person and always liked him until the ill-fated game. Harper and Travis slowly begin spending more time with each other including a night-time beach expedition to watch baby sea turtles hatch. It’s easier for Travis to hang out with Harper than any of his old friends because there are no expectations with her. When he is with her, he is sweet but broken. He doesn’t need to show the bravado that he does in front of his high school friends, ex-girlfriend, brother and father. He can be himself, let his guard down and in that, start to address the PTSD he is suffering.

Trish Doller has crafted what I perceive to be a realistic portrayal of young returned servicemen who are struggling to cope with readjusting to the ‘real world’. I loved Something Like Normal and felt so much love for it while turning the pages and upon finishing it. I adored Travis. I’d want him to have my back any day. And I loved Harper. She’s the kind of girl I would be best friends with. It has taken me weeks to try and find the right words to describe why I loved it so much but I just can’t find them. Sometimes you just feel something for a book that words can’t describe. Something Like Normal is one of those books for me.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: The Impossible Knife of Memory

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Release Date: 2nd January 2014

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

For the past five years Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq.

Now they are back in town where he grew up so Hayley can go to a proper school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy's PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over?

In a Nutshell:

From the first page, The Impossible Knife of Memory took hold and wouldn't let go. It's a novel full of emotion, respect, pain and love. Beautifully articulated from Hayley's perspective but with snippets of Andy's memories dispersed throughout, it clenched my heart and left me at pains to think of what so many people are, and will continue, to go through. It's an exploration of a father and daughter attempting to piece themselves back together and the life events that lead them to realise that accepting or asking for help is not a measure of failure.

My Review:

The Impossible Knife of Memory reflects the often forgotten casualties of war; the servicemen and women who return from their tours with injuries invisible to the eye. Not only does Laurie Halse Anderson respectfully, carefully and thoughtfully explore the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on a veteran, she also looks at the way in which their loved ones are effected and this is done through the point of view of seventeen-year-old Hayley.

Not to give too much of the story away, here's a little about Hayley's situation: Hayley's dad, Captain Andy Kincain, served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan for much of her childhood, leaving her to be raised by her Grandmother after her mother died when Hayley was only five months old. After her grandmother died, Hayley was brought up by Andy's 'Base Bunny', Trish, the closest thing to a mother Hayley had ever known. Due to suffering multiple injuries, her dad returned, injured in more ways than just physically. The relationship between Trish and her dad fell apart eventuating with Trish walking out on them both. Ever since, Hayley and her dad have moved from town to town with Andy home-schooling her. 

After an 'incident', Andy decides it's time to put down proper roots and returns to his hometown so Hayley can complete her final year of high school, much to Hayley's disdain. Adjusting to a new school is hard enough, but when you've never been to a high school, things are somewhat harder, regardless of the situation at home. She is frustrated by the system and the 'zombies' around her and doesn't give much stock to her guidance counsellor's efforts to get her to think about college. Hayley has never really given her future a thought given her position with her dad and while her friends dream of ways to escape their town, Hayley has never felt she's had the luxury of planning her future.

"My earbuds were in, but I wasn't playing music. I needed to hear the world but didn't want the world to know I was listening"

Hayley has very few memories of her childhood, having blocked most of them in an effort to forget and protect herself from further hurt. You can't miss what you don't remember but even the memories she does have are unreliable. The abandonment she felt after Trish left has turned into anger and coupled with her dad's psychological state, she suffers from anxiety, scared of what condition she may find her father in and her constant concerns for his safety. She is often left playing the parent, cleaning up after him as he numbs his pain and escapes his memories with alcohol and drugs. Her loyalty to her father and her belief that the two of them can make it work keeps her from letting those around her into the complexity of her life. The sudden and unwanted return of Trish adds to the unpredictability of Hayley and Andy's lives.

Hayley's friendship with Gracie and the inklings of a possible romance with Finn keep her floating above water, although she isn't the only one with a somewhat complicated home-life. Her friends are suffering through financial strain, a sibling's addiction problem, a messy divorce, and self-medication. But regardless of their problems, they provide each other with glimmers of hope and happiness.

From the first page, The Impossible Knife of Memory took hold and wouldn't let go. It's a novel full of emotion, respect, pain and love. Beautifully articulated from Hayley's perspective but with snippets of Andy's memories dispersed throughout, it clenched my heart and left me at pains to think of what so many people are, and will continue, to go through. It's an exploration of a father and daughter attempting to piece themselves back together and the life events that lead them to realise that accepting or asking for help is not a measure of failure.

Thankyou to Text Publishing for this review copy.

Have You Seen Ally Queen? by Deb Fitzpatrick

Title: Have You Seen Ally Queen?
Author: Deb Fitzpatrick

Release Date: 1st September 2011

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:

Ally Queen is fifteen, flat-chested and totally trapped in a tiny coastal town where the Killer Pythons are stale and there are only three types of people: bogans, surfies and spinach-munching hippies. How could her parents ever have thought moving to Melros was a good idea?

With her best friend miles away, and deep-and-meaningfuls only as long as a text message, it's a bad time for Ally to be having a personality crisis. She's torn between who she is and who she wants to be. No wonder she doesn't have a boyfriend - unless you count the irritating guy on the school bus who seems to be keen on her.

But first impressions can be deceptive...

In A Nutshell:
A realistic and relevant book for girls aged 13+ set in a fictional West Australian coastal town.

My Review:
Poor Ally Queen. At fifteen, she is struggling with the feelings of how unfair being a teenager can be when you don’t have control over your life. Her parents have uprooted her, and her little brother Jerry, to live in a small coastal town an hour south of Perth, Western Australia. Not only does she have to change schools, but she has to adjust to a whole new way of living.

For Ally, all she sees is that she has been pulled away from everything she is used to and separated from her friends. She doesn’t care about why they have moved or what the so-called benefits of living in Melros are, she just concentrates on the fact that she hates it.

Fifteen is a difficult, awkward and confusing time for a girl and Ally really struggles with feeling so out of place, especially since her family appears to be fitting in so well. She’s emotional and lashes out at those around her, even when she tries not to.

Ally is actually pretty unlikeable initially. She is selfish and whines all the time about how much she hates her life and how it’s all her parent’s fault. That said, I would be just as annoyed if my parents forced me to leave my home town and move somewhere where I didn’t know anyone. As a teenager, it’s often difficult to look beyond yourself and consider others, especially when the reasons for the change are not fully explained to you, as in Ally’s case.

The novel looks at how people deal with change and has Ally trying to cope with being bullied at her new school. It looks at how a family is affected and tries to manage with a loved one who is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The setting was beautifully written and it was nice to read a book set in areas I know (I live in Perth, the city were Ally has moved from) and many of the locations that are talked about I am quite familiar with. One of the only things that annoyed me was that I thought some of the language Ally used was a little bit too stereotypically Australian which I don’t necessarily think a city girl would use.

Overall, a realistic and relevant book for girls aged 13+


Also by Deb Fitzpatrick: 90 Packets of Instant Noodles