Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the suh-weet blog tour for Normalish, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Thanks Giselle for setting up the tour! I'm so glad I get to be a part of it and review this darling book. Read on for my thoughts and a spectacular giveaway!

-ABOUT THE BOOK & AUTHOR-

Published: 10.5.12 
Pages: 175
 

Fifteen-year-old Stacy questions the strange world of high school, love, her role in a harsh universe, and life, in Normalish.

People tell you high school's so great and wonderful, but they're lying. It's mostly horrible and full of disappointment. It sucks. Your best friend abandons you. The jerk you're in love with pretends to be  into you, and then the big dump. The boy you've really clicked with as a friend decides to go all crushy over you, so you break his heart just like yours was -- smashed into little pieces. Your sister goes mental, and you get involved with a guy who’s even crazier than she is (who you know is a very bad idea, but you do it anyway). Math only adds another stink of failure to the whole thing.

High school blows. Just ask freshman Stacy. She’d want you to know.

California girl Margaret Lesh lives with her husband Steve and son Andrew in a quiet suburb near Los Angeles. Co-creator of StoryRhyme.com, she writes middle grade, young adult and women's fiction. When she's not writing she's thinking about baked goods, especially donuts, far too often. She believes tacos are magic.

Inky's Blurbings:

When I first dove into this book, I knew  pretty much nothing about it, despite the fact that it had a simply gorgeous cover. I totally loved it. Still do! It's simple and sweet. Just like this book. Other than the cover, I didn't know what to expect, other than the story of a Freshman whose life sucks. Which it totally does.

As I began reading, I quickly noticed, that it was told in the form of a diary. This didn't really bug me, and I actually really enjoyed the way this story was told. It gave a closer in depth look on Stacy, and her feelings. True, there was more talk, less happening, but it was smooth and just really interesting to read, that it made up for all that. To be honest, at first Stacy kinda got on my nerves as a whiny character. I mean she spends the first 5% of the book complaining and repeated how lame she is, and how messed up her life is. Way to be an optimist. But I found that as the plot progressed and things change in nature for Stacy....she wasn't so whiny anymore. She was actually growing on me! Her voice is so sweet and simple and yet full of emotion that it's hard not to get sucked into this book.

The plot was well paced and had quite an emotional story drive for Stacy. Her life pretty much gets turned upside down as she struggles with young love, and family problems. I wish some of it had been explored more in depth, and not just simply written about in the journal. I would have liked to know more about certain events and people, but it wasn't like I was driven mad about it. So I think it was a very nice read.

Lastly, I just want to touch on the romance. It was sweet, but it felt like some of it was just spread out to far. Too little butter for the toast. There's Boy A, Boy B, and Boy C. We learn about each and explore the relationships with each. Boy B...well he was nice, but he was the one I really wanted more information on. Boy C, he was the Hero of the story. The one you know will eventually end up with the girl. So yeah, it was kinda predictable, but in a good way. The kind where even though you know what happens you can appreciate the journey to get there.

All in all, it was a very delightful read, that I enjoyed. Stacy was a lovely narrator and I really liked seeing the character change she went though. I can't say it struck me to the bone as a new favorite, but I'm very glad I was able to read it. If you ever need a short pick-me-up, then Normalish is the book for you.

Content: Milderate
(language throughout. Deity, Da**, He**, Sh** (x2) and some other mild ones. A few instances of innuendo. A girl tells another girl she did it with a guy.)

click to follow the rest of the tour! 

And now...for the grand finale! The giveaway! You could win an Amazon gift card, ebook of Normalish and some swag!  It's totally awesome everyone to go enter away! You know you want to!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope you all had a lovely time here today! Hopefully my review and spiffy promo will encourage you to take a chance on this book! It's simply delightful and I think you might like it. Happy Thursday! XOXO,