Normal People is about Marianne and Connell, two young people from Sligo, Ireland, who are worlds apart in both social hierarchy and social class. They don’t associate in school; Connell is popular and Marianne is a loner, but they share a connection outside of school corridors, and that is where their secret love story begins.
Oh my goodness. This book is just brilliant. I watched the tv show first- I know… not usually what I or many book lovers do, but the show is so faithful to the plot that if anything, reading the book afterwards enriches the story rather than take away from it. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal were 100 percent the best casting choices- the whole cast in fact.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Aoife McMahon, and I really enjoyed the experience. Her voice was so soothing and her Irish accent really puts you within the story. Would highly recommend listening to this one.If you want to know how much I really enjoyed it, I limited how many chapters a day I was listening too, just to extend the experience a while longer. That’s how good the story and characters of Normal People are. 5/5 
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SPOILERS FROM HERE ONWARDS This book is gorgeous. It alternates between Marianne and Connell’s third person point of view and you really get a sense of how the two characters feel about (most of) the same events. I think I liked being in Connell’s head a little bit more, as Marianne is quite open and direct with her thoughts and feelings so we know what she thinks of situations and people a lot anyway. Connell, however, is quiet and rather observant so to be in his head is more beneficial.
The writing didn’t necessary blow my socks off, but there were some sentences and paragraphs that hit you when you least expect it. I think one of my favourite parts in the book is the second to last chapter where Connell and Lorraine have the chat about if she regrets keeping Connell when she got pregnant. It made me tear up. It was so lovely.
Both Marianne and Connell have their faults, especially Connell at the beginning- my heart broke for Marianne; the way he treated her was horrid and he probably didn’t deserve any of the future time or chances he had with her. Nonetheless, I was rooting for them and found their story so very endearing. I would have loved for them to have ended up together but alas, life doesn’t always work how we want it to. The last few passages were beautiful yet heart-wrenching, but then, that’s exactly how I’d describe the whole book: beautifully heart-wrenching.
Brooke Pollock 