Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal swept me away. I can’t believe I’ve had this in my library for so long without reading! I knew I had to listen to the audiobook because it’s narrated by Natalie Naudus. Keep reading this book review of Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal for my full thoughts.
Summary
Ellie Haycock has always separated her life into sections: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. At home, Ellie is a proud member of her high school’s speech and debate team alongside her best friend and her boyfriend. At the hospital, Ellie has a team of doctors and a mom who won’t stop posting about the details of her illness online. It’s not hard for Ellie to choose which of the two she prefers.
But this latest hospital stay is different. Ellie becomes close with a group of friends, including Ryan, a first-timer who’s still optimistic about the doctors that Ellie stopped trusting years ago. Despite their differences, she can’t seem to keep him out of her head. Ellie’s life has never been ordinary—but maybe this time it will be extraordinary.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal is full of heart. It’s the ways in which Ellie’s life is marked by the compartments she’s drawn up. How she doesn’t want people to see the pieces of her she isn’t ready to share yet. She’s molded by the loss of those who should have supported her, but instead left her. Schreiber also explores the differences between being an advocate and speaking over someone. Because of her chronic illness, she’s used to not asking for help, for managing on her own, and focusing on the ways in which she can be ‘totally normal’.
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But Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal is a story about knowing when to ask for help. To realize it’s not an act of ‘weakness’. Schreiber examines the complex relationship she has with her mother, her blog, and the lines between Ellie’s experiences and those around her. Her family, her friends, may be involved in her life, but that does not make her experience theirs. I loved the audiobook narration from my favorite Natalie Naudus and the emotions Natalie is able to convey. Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal made me tear up multiple times. It can be hard to find people who will see us for who we are, but the ones who do will be the ones who stick around.
Find Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.