Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens. Gus is not normal. And … normal. And he’s fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.
Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.
But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.
After all, what could possibly go wrong?
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OMG TJ Klune is my new favorite author. I laughed so hard reading this book–I had to NOT read it anywhere people would be concerned about me laughing so hard that I was crying. I bought a copy for my daughter, who is staunchly against any romance in what she reads, because I just know she’ll love it as much as I did.
The characters are all originals, and I loved the crazy “how to” site that Gus learned from. I adored the crossover references to characters in other books (falling into the hippo enclosure at the zoo while your drag queen best friend films you instead of helping you)–because of course I immediately looked to see what else by TJ Klune I might love. What a wonderful discovery.
GUS IS THE ULTIMATE GRUMPY HERO. If that’s your thing you should definitely try this!
Gus was so great to read about. He’s quiet, a little strange, and very snarky. He also has one of the kindest hearts, he is one of the most accepting characters I’ve ever read about. He loves his life (as boring as it might be) and his routine, but one day everything gets turned upside down when he meets Casey. Gus is what made this a five star read, I LOVED HIM SO MUCH. *cries*
What first caught my attention about How To Be a Normal Person was that the love interest is asexual (this is so rare!). Casey is an asexual stoner hipster. When he moves to Gus’ hometown of Abby, Oregon, and starts working at his favorite coffee shop, he instantly knows that he and Gus will be best friends (though this idea horrifies Gus).
It did take some time for me to get used to the way Casey talked at first. Everything about him was so exaggerated when we first meet, but he compliments Gus in the best possible way! His outgoing personality and sense of humor is the perfect contrast to Gus’ introvert ways. Their romance was so cute to read about.
If you like any of the following things, you should give this a try:
– character driven stories
– snarky humor & characters
– slow burn romance (it’s all very cute!)
– well-developed main & secondary characters
– amazing dialogue & banter
The humor of this book was a lot more subtle than Klune’s other works (basically the opposite of The Lightning-Struck Heart). It’s low-key and well-timed and it’s impossible to read without smiling. All the characters are fantastic: Gus, Casey, the We Three Queens… There’s not really a lot happening in the ways of plot, the characters are what makes the story so interesting.
This book made my heart happy. It’s about self-acceptance and accepting others, it’s about love, family, and friends. Its most basic message is: it’s okay to be yourself, you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be. Ahh, this is just a beautiful book.
If you’ve read any of Klune’s other books and liked them, I see no reason why you wouldn’t like How To Be a Normal Person. If you’re looking for a sweet and funny romance check this out!
I’ve read 100’s of books. This is in my top 10 of all time favourites.
It was very very HILARIOUS, loving and super cute.
Big fan of this author. Good book
What a fun book! Liked the characters and the writing style was witty and unusual. Quirky and very modern. Great laughs
One of the most hilarious novels I’ve read the last year. Laughed out loud all the way through. Excellent narrative as well.