Quick read, wanted to know more about her hair situation (she's totally makes and no one in her family cares??) Could have had more depth overall. ( )

Hmm! This book never really grabbed my attention. I felt sorry for Tamar at the start with the loss of her sisters and then her hair, but I never grew to like her. The storyline jumped around and there were parts that were unnecessary such as the drug dealer scene and the night of the prom. Not sure why they were included. I also couldn't understand why she never sought medical advice about her hair loss. Overall, "The New Normal" was a quick, but dull, read. ( )

I wanted to read The New Normal because I was intrigued by the hair loss issues as well as how she would handle it on top of the rest of the loss she had in her life.

Karen at For What It's Worth and Mary at The Book Swarm occasionally post twitter-style reviews. Karen calls hers Short and Tweet, and I am going to borrow that review style here.
Tweet (or two)

I flew through this & connected with Tamar. She was strong and funny and realized there was more to her than appearance- she ended up owning the loss of hair and made it a new part of who she was. The family aspect was well done and could feel the grief of loss of sisters.

I rated it a little bit lower than first impression of a 4 star because I read this a week and a half ago, and don't remember many details besides I enjoyed.

Bottom Line: Loved the mc and character growth. ( )

This #bookaday Canadian YA was good, but it didn't stand out for me. There are quite a few novels for young adults on the theme of grief that have better developed characters, in my opinion. I think teens will like it, but for uniqueness and literary quality, it was just okay. ( )

This book took me by surprise! I didn't expect to get so taken in by it! Once I started it I couldn't put it down till I finished it! Tamar was such a strong, likeable narrator and her story - while unique - was still relatable. It was a really enjoyable read! ( )