Differently Normal
Author: Tammy Robinson
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Release date: 30th January 2018
Pages: 344 pages
R.R.P: $29.99
Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure, DIFFERENTLY NORMAL is about first love and the sacrifices you'll make for the ones you hold close. For fans of Nicholas Sparks and Jojo Moyes.
For Maddy, life is all about routine. It has to be, to keep her autistic sister happy and healthy. With just Maddy and her mother as Bee's full-time carers, there's no time in Maddy's life for complications like friends, let alone a boyfriend. So when Bee joins a new Riding for the Disabled stable and they meet Albert, the last thing on Maddy's mind is falling in love.
Some things, she's about to learn, are outside of our control. Albert has resigned himself to always being a disappointment to his strict father. When he meets Maddy, he gets a glimpse of what being part of a family can be like, and of the tremendous sacrifices that people will make for the ones that they love.
DIFFERENTLY NORMAL is a heart-wrenching tale of love and loss, because sometimes it takes letting someone else in to discover who you really are . . .
'A funny and poignant tale about first love. Tammy Robinson is a natural storyteller.' Nicky Pellegrino
My Review
Thoughts on the Book: Differently Normal is the stunning new novel from Tammy Robinson which explores the lives of Maddy and Albert pre-meeting and post-meeting each other. Maddy gave up everything to help her mum look after her disabled little sister Bee with the only social interaction she has at her photo counter job. Her only friend Kyle, works along side her at the photo counter but even he doesn't know too much about her. Albert, on the other hand has friends and a social life but struggles with his relationship with his dad and older brother. They are very macho man and Albert is certainly not, he is more sensitive and basically a mummy's boy. They constantly butt heads and nothing Albert ever does is enough. Chance leads to Maddy and Albert meeting at Bee's new Riding for the Disabled stab,e where Albert just so happens to work. From their first meeting Maddy makes an impression on Albert and after a but of wooing they have their first date, then second and the more they're the to know each other the closer they become. But with all her responsibilities can Maddy really 100% commit to s relationship or will a tragic accident take everything she loves before she can make her choice?
Thank you so much to Alana from Hachette Australia for sending me a copy of Differently Normal and for letting me be apart of this amazing blog tour. Differently Normsl is a compelling heart-reaching story that will make you laugh out loud and cry your heart out all at the same time. Tammy Robinson tackles heart hitting topics such as people with disabilities and the difficulties they go through in day to day life, bullying and domestics between family in a way that makes you unaware that you're even being schooled in the area. Both Maddy and Akbert have so much to deal with personally that you can understand why they are both hesitant with starting anything. But of course once they did they went all in and they would let nothing tear them apart.
My favourite parts of the whole book were whenever Bee was in the scene. You just can't help but fall in love with her and her quirky personality. Tammy wrote Bee's character beautifully and wrote about her in a way that will allow a lot of people who might have had misconceptions about disabled people understand the way that they act and why they may act that way. Like young toddlers, they really don't understand that what they are doing may be perceived as acting wrongly. I think everyone who reads Differently Normal will have a better understanding of what stabled people and their carers go through everyday.
I also adored the relationship between Maddy and Albert and how easy it seemed to be between the two of them. Their relationship pulled at my heartstrings and I was constantly in awe of how Albert was with Bee, despite his upbringing under his father. No wonder Maddy fell hard and fast for him. As their relationship progressed I fell more and more in love with Maddy and Albert and was cheering them on from the sidelines despite complications from family. But that ending absolutely crushed me and I think it will be awhile before I can get over it. It just seemed to come out of the blue and I understood how the characters were so upset. But in saying that the ending was very fitting for the story and I was extremely satisfied. After getting a glimpse of Tammy Robinson's writing with Differently Normal I can't wait to read more from her in the future.
Rating: 5/5
Keep an eye out from my Q&A with Tammy being posted on the 24th Febraury.
GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37955669-differently-normal
MAIN LINK: https://www.hachette.com.au/tammy-robinson/differently-normal
PURCHASE LINKS
AU
https://www.booktopia.com.au/differently-normal-tammy-robinson/prod9781869713720.html
https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/differently-normal-by-tammy-robinson-9781897136898/#.WmfxpaiWaUk
NZ
https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/differently-normal-6323082
Kobo
https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/differently-normal-2
iBooks
https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/differently-normal/id1317276850?mt=11
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Tammy_Robinson_Differently_Normal?id=RilADwAAQBAJ
AUTHOR BIO
Tammy Robinson is a contemporary women's fiction author from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. After years spent working her way round the world, Tammy settled back in New Zealand with her husband, their two girls and a newborn baby boy. She has published six novels through Amazon, and DIFFERENTLY NORMAL was her first novel with Hachette New Zealand. She is currently working on PHOTOS OF YOU, which Hachette will publish in 2019.
AUTHOR LINKS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TammyRobinsonAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TammyRobinson76
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6907993.Tammy_Robinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammyrobinsonauthor/
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