The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson and Why You Should Be Involved In The Cover Reveal Flash Mob

(V rushed post; I'm teaching an evening class in 15 minutes but I've just seen this news and wanted to get the word out quickly!)

I was recently lucky enough to be sent a copy of Lisa Williamson’s debut The Art of Being Normal, coming in January from David Fickling Books. My expectations for this were sky-high because it was recommended to me by Charlie, George, and Kim, all of whom have amazing taste in books, but it smashed them completely.

I don’t want to do a full review as I’m leaving that until closer to release date but I mentioned last week when writing my 20 Best YA Books of the Last 10 Years that if I hadn’t limited it to already released books, this would definitely have been on there, and I stand by that. It’s a stunning read which switches between two amazing main characters – David, a year 10 boy who wants to be a girl, and Leo, the new boy in Year 11 with a secret of his own – and the friendship that forms between them. As well as the two great lead characters it has a brilliant supporting cast – with their families being especially strong – and it’s completely riveting. Cat Clarke said of it that it “will break your heart – and then mend it again” which sums it up perfectly.

Just announced is that the cover will be revealed next Tuesday, 21st October, and that David Fickling Books are asking people on Twitter and Instagram to take part in the #WhatIsNormalFlashMob,  tweeting or regramming the image of the cover (which will be available on Tuesday to download from their website) with that hashtag and/or changing their avatar to the cover. I know that a lot of people following me feel really passionately, as I do, about spreading the word about diverse books so I wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention in the hope that as many people as possible would join the flash mob.

If you’ve read it, I’m almost certainly preaching to the converted here. If you haven’t, but you trust my judgement, or that of Charlie, Kim, George, James Dawson, Anna James and Charlotte Eyre of the Bookseller, Cat Clarke, Barry Cunningham, Non Pratt, Cait Lomas, or Darren from Waterstones Durham, please get behind the cover reveal – let’s see if we can turn our Twitter timelines into a wall of #WhatIsNormal!