We Are Totally Normal

January 15, 2020
Nandan is perpetually lost. Confused about his sexuality, his social status, and how he feels about the other high school students he calls his friends, Nandan manipulates and maneuvers his way through social interactions, hanging out with people he doesn't really like. Nandan hooks up with Dave, who "was actually kind of hot," but "maybe folks didn't see it because he was Asian." He feels disgusted about it later and wonders if he only did it to try and impress the popular crowd. These teens include Pothan and Ken, who are both bullies and gaslighters as well as sexist. The book includes a character who feels like being gay would make him cool, blasé and sarcastic use of the term "microaggressions," teenage alcohol abuse, many unhealthy relationships and friendships, and an entire conversation by boys about how to manipulate a girl into sleeping with you. It is reminiscent of how exhausting being a teen can be, as all the characters are so crippled with anxiety and overthinking that the story advances at a snail's pace. Its strength lies in the normalization of negotiating the complex social structure of teenage friendships and relationships, but it is also reminiscent of watching a documentary or reality show about awful people that was largely, painfully unedited. Nandan is Indian American, and there is diversity in the supporting cast. Frustratingly long-winded and rambling. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2020

Gr 10 Up-High school senior Nandan, who is of South Asian descent, broke up with his perfect girlfriend, Avani, because being around her made him too anxious. He struggles with feeling like everyone around him is brighter and more interesting than he is, and that all of his specialness is by association only. When he befriends quiet, bow tie-wearing Dave, Nandan immediately turns him into a project-he will help Dave figure out how to hook up with Mari, his supposed crush. Instead, Nandan and Dave hook up and Nandan must struggle with how, or whether, to define his sexuality. This is not a typical coming-out narrative: Nandan worries that his coming out may be a form of attention-seeking to please his diverse friend group, who think it's cool to be queer. Nandan is deeply selfish and spends most of his time obsessing over the minute intricacies of his friend group's social dynamics. Everyone is using everyone else, and his male friends frequently make sexist comments and approach girls as conquests rather than as people. All of this makes the reading experience tedious, although teens are likely to find the narrative realistic. The most interesting parts of the book deal with Nandan's conflicted feelings about masculinity and gendered friendships, as he struggles to understand the power dynamics among his male friends and longs for close platonic friendships with girls. VERDICT This novel covers unique ground, but unappealing characters and a meandering narrative will put off many readers.-Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 For Nandan, it was easy hooking up with Dave, his first male partner, but it sends him on a head-spinning journey of social and sexual exploration as he questions his identity. Nandan's confusion is reflected in seesawing impulses: he finds Dave attractive, but their relationship is unfulfilling; Nandan comes out as queer, but is he only using the label to stand out from the crowd? It's difficult to sympathize with a narrator as unreliable as Nandan, who from one page to the next doesn't know what he wants and whose choices are largely manipulative. Kanakia (Enter Title Here, 2016) writes from a deeply honest place, and Nandan's is a very real experience that needs to be represented, but his insightful commentary is mired in obsession with social hierarchy, and his approach is so intellectual and unemotional that readers may struggle to connect with the fiction. Still, with its fast, dialogue-driven pacing, humor, and finger on the youthful pulse, this book will find an eager audience in queer and questioning teens, especially those of color.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)