The Art of Being Normal
Publisher
Farrar Straus Giroux
Publication Year
2016
ISBN
9780374302375
Pages
344 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
David Piper, always an outsider, forms an unlikely friendship with Leo Denton who, from the first day at his new school wants only to be invisible, but when David's deepest secret gets out, that he wants to be a girl, things get very messy for both of them.
Grade Level
9-12
Lexile Measure
770L
Diversity Topics
LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Transgender; transgender teenagers; boy to girl
Main Character
male teenager; female teenager
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
mother and father
LGBTQ+
transgender male; transgender female
Awards
Academy of Book Cover Designers Awards, 2015, Short List, Young Adult
Australian Family Therapists' Award for Children's Literature, 2017, Young Adult
Branford Boase Award, 2016, Short List
Grampian Children's Book Award, 2017, Short List
Hounslow Teen Read Award, 2016, Winner
Leeds Book Award, 2016, Winner, Ages 14-16
North East Teenage Book Award, 2016, Winner, Teen
Oxfordshire Book Award, 2016, Winner, Secondary Novel
UKLA Children's Book Award, 2016, Long List, Ages (12-16)
Waterstones Children's Book Prize, 2016, Winner, Older Fiction
Wirral Paperback of the Year Award, 2017, Short List
Young Adult Book Prize, 2016, Short List, Young Adult Fiction
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2017 Grades 9-12
Recommended Books for Young Readers, 2017 Teens
USBBY Outstanding International Books, 2017 Grades 9-12
YALSA Teens' Top Ten, 2017 Teen
Keywords
secrecy; friendship; high school; bullying; tutoring; transphobia
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Williamson, Lisa, "The Art of Being Normal" (2016). Diverse Families. 189.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/189