Book Proposal
Normal People by Sally RooneyI saw This book on TikTok and a lot of people said it was really good so I thought to give this book a try! There’s also a Hulu show so I’m guessing it should be pretty interesting. It’s about a girl and a guy, spoiler: they don’t end up together. Literally sad face emoji but if the reason they don't end up together is super anticlimactic I’m burning the book. So I’m hoping the drama in this is juicy. If not I’m going to be sad but I read the first page and it’s okay so far. I mean it’s popular for a reason so it’ll probably be fine. The two main characters are a boy that’s popular and a girl that’s basically being bullied and going through mental illness. I think mental health, romance, and being a teenager just growing up are going to be the biggest themes. Hopefully I don’t get bored reading this because I always get bored after reading three fourths of a book.
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Book Review #1
What's going on?
The book starts with the main characters Marianne and Connell in their last year of high school. Connell is popular, has friends, and is on the soccer team. On the other hand Marianne has no friends, is bullied, and doesn’t have the best relationship with her family. They only became friends in the start because Connells mother cleans Marianne's house a couple times a week. When they would talk in her kitchen you could feel the tension between them. He would get easily flustered by her and Marianne would always tease him. Outside of that house they acted like strangers, like they didn’t know each other. People knew his mom cleans his house but Connell would always say he’s never talked to her. He didn’t want his popular friends knowing he would talk to Marianne and enjoy it. His friends would spread rumors about her and just be overall rude. Marianne could’ve told the entire school but she never felt the need to.
Marianne realized she liked Connell but didn’t really know why. She actually admitted her feelings to him after an argument but it was in a really confusing way where he couldn’t tell if she meant like as friend or more than. She confirmed to him that she meant it as more than friends and that when they started seeing each other. He was still ashamed or embarrassed of her so He kept it a secret. He would only see her when no one was home and made sure no one from school would see them together. Of course that didn’t work out because it's insulting to her and she acted like she didn’t mind but you could tell she did mind it. So she broke it off which i completely support her for that decision and Connell started dating one of the girls that was bullying her. WHICH MADE ME SO MAD. They then went to the same college because at the time they were seeing each other she convinced him to apply to the same college as her.
In college their roles completely switched. Connell now has a hard time making friends and he's single. He then ran into Marianne at a party and found out she was dating the most popular guy at their school and has a bunch of rich friends. Instead of treating him the same way he did in high school she welcomed him to her friend group. Even though he didn't feel completely welcomed because they thought poorly of him because he’s not as wealthy as them. The night they ran into each other they talked and Marianne told him how much he hurt her and he apologized.
They soon started seeing each other again and became even closer than before. People knew they were seeing each other so there was no worries about that and they would talk about everything together. The only thing was that they still weren’t dating. They acted like a couple but never put a label on it and Marianne would say they could see other people if they wanted to which I could tell hurt Connell a little because he would often express that he loves her. He knew she also loved him and would do anything for him but it was still somewhat complicated.
Once summer started, Connell lost his job due to the place closing down and he couldn’t pay rent near his college anymore. He wanted to tell Marianne and ask to live with her because he already stayed with her most nights but he couldn't do it. He missed the chance so many times and when he told her he missed his chance to ask if he could stay with her. The conversation quickly changed to they should start seeing other people if he’s going to live at home over the summer and he was disappointed in the outcome of that entire conversation. He moved home, she stayed at school. They lost contact over the summer and she started dating a new guy. That's basically where we are at right now in the book which is a little sad but i guess that's just how it is.
Marianne realized she liked Connell but didn’t really know why. She actually admitted her feelings to him after an argument but it was in a really confusing way where he couldn’t tell if she meant like as friend or more than. She confirmed to him that she meant it as more than friends and that when they started seeing each other. He was still ashamed or embarrassed of her so He kept it a secret. He would only see her when no one was home and made sure no one from school would see them together. Of course that didn’t work out because it's insulting to her and she acted like she didn’t mind but you could tell she did mind it. So she broke it off which i completely support her for that decision and Connell started dating one of the girls that was bullying her. WHICH MADE ME SO MAD. They then went to the same college because at the time they were seeing each other she convinced him to apply to the same college as her.
In college their roles completely switched. Connell now has a hard time making friends and he's single. He then ran into Marianne at a party and found out she was dating the most popular guy at their school and has a bunch of rich friends. Instead of treating him the same way he did in high school she welcomed him to her friend group. Even though he didn't feel completely welcomed because they thought poorly of him because he’s not as wealthy as them. The night they ran into each other they talked and Marianne told him how much he hurt her and he apologized.
They soon started seeing each other again and became even closer than before. People knew they were seeing each other so there was no worries about that and they would talk about everything together. The only thing was that they still weren’t dating. They acted like a couple but never put a label on it and Marianne would say they could see other people if they wanted to which I could tell hurt Connell a little because he would often express that he loves her. He knew she also loved him and would do anything for him but it was still somewhat complicated.
Once summer started, Connell lost his job due to the place closing down and he couldn’t pay rent near his college anymore. He wanted to tell Marianne and ask to live with her because he already stayed with her most nights but he couldn't do it. He missed the chance so many times and when he told her he missed his chance to ask if he could stay with her. The conversation quickly changed to they should start seeing other people if he’s going to live at home over the summer and he was disappointed in the outcome of that entire conversation. He moved home, she stayed at school. They lost contact over the summer and she started dating a new guy. That's basically where we are at right now in the book which is a little sad but i guess that's just how it is.
How I feel about it so far...
I'm actually enjoying the book so far! It's nothing super exciting but it's something very chill that you could just read in your free time. The 2 main characters keep coming together and drifting apart but it's not even making me that mad because it's portrayed in a very real way where it's like that's just life, you know? I love them together but also I think they shouldn't be together because of their dependency on each other and every time something happens they just go back to each other which feels very unhealthy. Also their communication is weird because sometimes they're really good at telling each other whats up and also reading each other but other times they stay silent for whatever reason. It's usually like they're embarrassed, they don't want to be a burden, or they just can't spit it out. It's also just weird because they say how they know the other person would listen without judgment but they still have doubts which might just be their pride. They know that they love each other and they will even say it out loud but still can’t commit to each other.
I also really like the 2 main characters which is unusual for me because I typically hate the main character of a book. I just see parts of myself in them which makes them relatable. Like I can understand where they’re coming from when they do rash things.
I also really like the 2 main characters which is unusual for me because I typically hate the main character of a book. I just see parts of myself in them which makes them relatable. Like I can understand where they’re coming from when they do rash things.
Connell & Marianne
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Connell
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Marianne
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How has the book made me start to think about creating my story?
l didn’t think my book would give me an idea of what to write for my story but it actually gave me a pretty good idea. I think I'm going to write about a lost friendship where we would become super close and fall out a lot. We are no longer friends which is a little disappointing but it was bound to happen. I wish we could still be on good terms but I already gave it my all so I’m done with it. I think it’d be a good relatable story though.
Book review #2
The ending
The second half of the book becomes very frustrating. Marianne starts dating her new boyfriend, Jamie, and she’s still friends with all of the same snobby people from their college. Connell and Marianne remain friends but their friendship is obviously on another level making Jamie a little jealous. I guess I would also feel the same way but Jamie is also just super rude and stuck up so I could care less about his feelings. He constantly belittles Connell and actually just everyone around him, even Marianne. She just takes it though, I think it’s because that’s just how all of the men in her life have always treated her like her brother and father. Oh and her relationship with her brother becomes really bad at this point and he’s constantly talking down to her.
Something that bothers me with the way Marianne and Connell act is how disloyal they are to their partners. One month Connell needed help for Marianne because he got robbed and he tells her he’s now dating a girl named Helen and Marianne starts breaking down crying, mind you she’s dating Jamie. It’s just weird how she decided to go and date another man but gets mad at Connell for getting a girlfriend. Connell is the same way, he thinks a lot about how much he loves his new girlfriend but then when she says how she feels it’s weird how he and Marianne act with each other, he automatically takes Mariannes side. Him and Marianne even kissed while they were both dating other people which is just bizarre to me because they continued to date other people after that. Like if you guys can’t control yourselves maybe don’t date other people. Jamie deserves it though because he’s just rude.
In the second half of the book Connell also falls into a depression and has to start taking medication for it. It started after one of his high school friends took their own life. He kind of feels like he’s a little bit to blame because he never responded to his friend's message. It was also after Helen broke up with him. I think that was kind of his fault though because he was too obsessed with Marianne. He talked about it once during the book how when he’s with Marianne he feels like he also has the same problems as her so maybe that was also a factor in it. Marianne also dealt with depression and had a lot of family issues. She never went to see a therapist though or got help. She always just wondered.
In the end he was accepted to a writing program in New York and she told him to go. His whole life would open up if he went and her life would probably stay the same. She knew that but she didn’t want to hold him back. He would’ve stayed if she told him to. In the end they never got together and they always stopped talking for months at a time over petty things. It’s sad how if they both just said what they wanted they probably would’ve worked out but they didn’t.
Something that bothers me with the way Marianne and Connell act is how disloyal they are to their partners. One month Connell needed help for Marianne because he got robbed and he tells her he’s now dating a girl named Helen and Marianne starts breaking down crying, mind you she’s dating Jamie. It’s just weird how she decided to go and date another man but gets mad at Connell for getting a girlfriend. Connell is the same way, he thinks a lot about how much he loves his new girlfriend but then when she says how she feels it’s weird how he and Marianne act with each other, he automatically takes Mariannes side. Him and Marianne even kissed while they were both dating other people which is just bizarre to me because they continued to date other people after that. Like if you guys can’t control yourselves maybe don’t date other people. Jamie deserves it though because he’s just rude.
In the second half of the book Connell also falls into a depression and has to start taking medication for it. It started after one of his high school friends took their own life. He kind of feels like he’s a little bit to blame because he never responded to his friend's message. It was also after Helen broke up with him. I think that was kind of his fault though because he was too obsessed with Marianne. He talked about it once during the book how when he’s with Marianne he feels like he also has the same problems as her so maybe that was also a factor in it. Marianne also dealt with depression and had a lot of family issues. She never went to see a therapist though or got help. She always just wondered.
In the end he was accepted to a writing program in New York and she told him to go. His whole life would open up if he went and her life would probably stay the same. She knew that but she didn’t want to hold him back. He would’ve stayed if she told him to. In the end they never got together and they always stopped talking for months at a time over petty things. It’s sad how if they both just said what they wanted they probably would’ve worked out but they didn’t.
Did I enjoy the book?
The book wasn’t anything I expected, it was very emotional and also realistic. There was drama in the book but it wasn’t over exaggerated which just made it feel like a real story. I think I liked that it was realistic and in some ways relatable. Connell was my favorite in the end even though he made me mad a couple of times. I just relate to him the most because of the way he thinks . Marianne was always just a follower trying to fit in so it made me a little annoyed but I saw where she was coming from. She was bullied and high school and her family never really liked her that much, she wanted to just be liked by someone. The book was pretty good and I would recommend it to anyone that has ever struggled with insecurities or with feeling accepted in a place.
The themeI think the biggest theme in this book is to just stay true to yourself also to be honest with yourself and your partner. Both character’s struggled with being themselves and surrounding themselves with actual good people that care about them. They also both struggled with being honest with each other. A lot of conflict could have been solved if they just said how they actually felt rather than acting cool about it. I think the books might actually affect the way I live my life.
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How the book made me think about my own writingFor my own creative writing I know that I want to write about a friendship I had that fell through. I think the story there could be really good if told correctly. We both struggled with things and it just didn’t end up the way I wanted it to. In terms of actual writing, the book has made me realize that I don’t have to write a story in chronological order. Usually I would struggle with thinking of things to fill in the time where nothing is really happening instead of just skipping time. I now realize that skipping a couple of months is acceptable.
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Storyboard
My Creative Story
Research
The book I read before writing this gave me most of my inspiration for how I wanted to be honest about feelings and also how I used time. I tried my best to say how i felt or would feel in the moment. I also broke up the story by months and seasons like the book I read. it made it easier for me to also write because I didn't have to worry about pointless fillers.
ProcessWhen starting this assignment I knew I wanted to make it kind of like diary entries but in real time if that makes sense. I created a story i feel almost every teenage girl could relate to. especially since friendship breakups are always the hardest. I think the main character developed in a way where she became more and more tired even after always forgiving her friend. at the end she had a enough but still loved her bestfriend of course. The beginnings was more about laying out how their relationship is and the end was showing how ignoring a relationship that doesn't work will not work out. My inspiration for all of this was my past friendship and most of this story is what really happened.
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Overall takeawaysMy biggest struggles was trying to keep the story consistent. I didn't know what stories were relevant and what weren't so I had to do lot of thinking about what is necessary for the story. I've never been good at creative writing and this is definitely the longest piece of writing I've ever written. Since this was my first time actually trying so I feel like it could be celebrated.
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