Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Alexi, youngest daughter of the perfect Littrell family, is hiding a secret behind a good-girl fagade. With the support of an exceptionally sensitive boy with pain of his own, Alexi finds the strength to admit her trauma, even if it might damage her reputation. Alexi's interior turmoil exposes the gray spaces between sexual assault and consent in this uneven but affirming debut novel.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Sixteen-year-old Alexi Littrell has a secret. Consumed by guilt and shame, she decides her loving parents and supportive big sister can never know what happened to her at the backyard pool over the summer. While she fakes being normal at school and home, Alexi develops a series of bizarre coping mechanisms and even resorts to self-harm. Only when her shy, clumsy neighbor, Bodee Lennox, in the midst of his own family crisis, comes to live with the Littrell family does Alexi find someone in whom she can confide. By helping Alexi cope with her pain, Bodee finds the strength to move past the murder of his mother. In the emotional climax, Alexi confronts the person who assaulted her and begins to heal her broken life.Debut novelist Stevens has written a powerful and fast-paced first-person story of a young woman who finds an inner strength she never knew she possessed. Further editing to moderate some overwritten passages could have rendered the novel's message even more effective. Omitting some extraneous and repetitive narrative threadslike the dating woes of Alexi's girlfriends and the many scenes set in the AP psychology classwould have helped tighten the plot. Although clearly intended as a work of bibliotherapy, Faking Normal deserves a place in most libraries serving young adults.Jamie Hansen.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Somewhere between Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson lies Stevens-s rich debut about two adolescents grappling with extraordinary trauma. Alexi Littrell has two close friends, dates football players, and has a family that her older sister-s fiancé describes as -the best family in the world.- But she is carrying a secret about something that happened to her over the summer and is self-harming to mute the pain. Her classmate Bodee-s Kool-Aid dyed hair and quiet demeanor already set him apart from peers, but after his father kills his mother, he becomes even more of an object of pity and curiosity. When Alexi-s parents invite Bodee to live with them, the pair become friends, with Alexi helping Bodee release his guilt over his mother-s death and Bodee encouraging Alexi to speak out about what happened to her. Though the busy plot sometimes swallows Alexi herself, the mood is intense and the story moves briskly, complete with an ending so surprising that some readers may flip back to the beginning to start fresh. Ages 14-up. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Feb.)

ALA Booklist (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

Sixteen-year-old Alexi has a secret; something bad happened to her last summer, but she is not saying what. Publicly, she pretends that everything is alright, but privately, she counts compulsively and painfully scratches herself. She is, she thinks, "fresh out of happy," but "faking normal" is a skill she learned last summer. Then Bodee e quiet, shy boy next door ves in with her family, and Alexi finds a friend and confidant. Meanwhile, an unknown boy begins leaving song lyrics for Alexi that have an uncanny capacity to capture her moods. She calls the boy Captain Lyric and realizes that she is falling in love with him. But who is he? And what is the secret Alexi resolutely continues to keep? First-time novelist Stevens does a nice job of managing these unknowns, though many readers will have guessed the answers before the big reveals. Nevertheless, Alexi, though occasionally exasperating, is a well realized, sympathetic character, as is Bodee, and the resolution of their slowly evolving relationship is deeply satisfying. An engaging read for romance fans.