Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal by Gretchen Schreiber
Narrator: Natalie Naudus
Published by Macmillan Audio, Wednesday Books on March 5, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Length: 8 hours 56 minutes
Pages: 304
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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The Breakfast Club meets Five Feet Apart in this big-hearted novel from debut author Gretchen Schreiber.

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.

This was good! I had no idea what this book was about when I started listening. (Yes, I grabbed it for the cover alone. Don’t judge me) It didn’t take me long before Ellie’s story hooked me and I was completely invested in how things would work out in her life. I found this coming-of-age story to be both eye-opening and entertaining.

The last thing that Ellile wants is another surgery. She has worked so hard to keep her hospital life and her real life separate in an attempt to be what she believes is “normal”. I really enjoyed seeing how much Ellie’s group of friends at the hospital supported her and her connection with Ryan who is new to the world of dealing with illness. Ellie grows a lot throughout this story and I wanted to cheer her on with each accomplishment. She does make quite a few mistakes but learns from all of them

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Natalie Naudus did a great job with the story. I have listened to this narrator in the past and consider myself a fan of her work. She does a great job of bringing just the right amount of emotion to her reading and has a wide range of voices that she uses to depict each character in the story. Her performance added to my enjoyment of this entertaining novel.

I would recommend this book to others. Ellie Haycock is a great character dealing with challenges not everyone faces. I was touched by the kindness of Ellie and her friends. I hope that I get the opportunity to read more of this talented author’s work in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio.

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