Book Review ; ¨ The Art of Being Normal ¨

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson is a book about boy called Leo Denton, a trans student who transfers to a new school. He then starts to attract the most beautiful girl in his class, even though that wasn’t exactly part of his plan. His one goal was to be invisible. While he didn’t mean to draw attention to himself, he ends up standing up for another trans student called Kate. Although both of them are surrounded by ignorant people, they have each other and have hope for the future. Williamson develops the characters in her novel well. One character, for example, has an obsession with watching TV and clomping around the house, talking in an American accent.

Another character writes her own songs, plays the guitar and posts videos of herself playing her songs. Each of these characters is unique, yet their interests are typical of teens around the world. I rate this book as a 7/10 because it does have a lot of flaws about being a trans person. Overall it is good book to read. The author keeps you hooked throughout the entire story. It’s good to have LGBTQ+ representation since a lot of people are a part of the community. You could find the book in our school library, at any bookstore and Amazon. It would also be a good choice for the next Teen Rainbow Reads at the Fairfield Public Library on February 6.