Differently Normal
A spellbinding love story of hopes, dreams and sacrifice
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
'Crisp tone, skill with dialogue and sense of humour.' - Catherine Robinson, NZ Listener
'Some of the most beautiful prose I've read for a long time. Read to see how humour can convey emotion to a degree not often felt... There are love stories that flounder for lack of air...then there are love stories that breathe along with us. This is one of the latter.' - Ian Lipke, Queensland Reviewers Collective
'Blown away by the writing and the storytelling... such great insight into their personalities, desires and fears that it was impossible not to fall in love with them.' - Jenna
'Robinson is a storyteller in the Jojo Moyes vein; her writing has a quick, dialogue-focused style, she deals with the Heavy Stuff in a matter-of-fact manner.' - Stephanie Jones, Coast FM
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 sister with autism 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
*** Pre-Order Tammy's next book Photos of You publishing December 2018. Search using 9781869713805 ***
What readers are saying:
'How I wish I could give more than 5 stars! Reading this book will make you laugh and cry and feel every emotion in between' *****
'I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to read this. Breathtaking and heartbreaking, the emotions really take a battering' *****
'If you're after an emotional love story that takes you on a journey of struggles and heartache, I highly recommend this book. Just remember to buy a box of tissues' *****
'I was blown away' *****
'Unforgettable. A must read' *****
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Growing up with a single mother and an autistic sister, Bee, has taught Maddy to keep her expectations low. There's no time or money for college, and though she tries to pursue her passion for photography, most of her life is given over to work and caring for Bee. She's certainly not looking for romance. But when Albert, who works at Bee's therapeutic riding stables, notices Maddy, her life takes a turn. Albert is a good guy with problems of his own: his macho, overbearing father routinely bullies and demeans him. He can't wait to leave town, but Maddy can't picture a scenario that would let her leave with him. Still, they enjoy the love that they find, until tragedy intervenes. This is New Zealand author Robinson's first book to be published in the U.S. Unfortunately, flat characters, a predictable plot, and frequent passages of workmanlike prose may distract readers from Maddy and Albert's love story and lessen the impact of the eventual tragedy. Ages 14 up.
