Book: Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal

Author: Gretchen Schreier

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy. 

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. 

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Kristen’s Review:

This book is very much a young adult story about a girl named Ellie who has an illness.

Ellie feels she lives two separate lives, one life she is a normal teenager in high school on the debate team. While her other life is in and out of hospitals.

What I found very frustrating was Ellie’s mom who kept posting about her illness online for the world to see. However, toward the end, I felt for her mother. This was her way of coping with her daughter’s illness.

This go around in the hospital she meets an amazing group of friends. I loved them. I love that they never gave up on her and kept showing up.

The story felt very real and the overall message I got was to make sure to always advocate for yourself in the medical field.

Final Score: 3/5

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Brian’s Review:

Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal is an example of a book that I wanted to love but came away only liking it. I am not the audience for the book so I’m sure that had a lot to do with me not loving it. 

Ellie is sick and has an illness that has been puzzling doctors, she has lost faith in them and their abilities. She tries to be two different people. Ellie at home/school and then Ellie at the hospital. This includes trying to keep her friends separate and never discussing her hospital issues with her school friends. 

Ellie takes this separation to a whole new level and comes off extremely rude to everyone. When you have a young main character who is ill it’s weird to get annoyed with them. I want Ellie to be better and find out what’s wrong with her but I also wanted her to stop pissing me off. 

I also had a hard time with Ellie’s mom. Through Ellie’s eyes, her mom made her illness about herself and her online presence by documenting everything. Through her mom’s eyes, she brought awareness and raised money. I expected to side with her mom but there were some moments where I felt Ellie was right for being upset with how her mom handled her illness. 

Final Score 3/5