I really enjoyed this cute YA sports romcom. The Devil Wears Prada type subplot, the bad boy and the aspiring intern were done so well. I couldn't stop smiling through the majority of the book. It was a quick, and fast paced read that I devoured in one sitting. Definitely an enjoyable few hours spent reading this one!

Maddie and Gabe were both adorable, also a huge fan of Katie, and Seb too!

This new YA summer book was a cute read. We follow Maddie during her internship in the city of Chicago. Her work includes helping Gabe, an Italian soccer player, with his public image after a few past mishaps. I enjoyed their banter and chemistry, especially when they were alone and could truly be themselves with each other. I must say that the last part of the book wasn't my favorite, mainly because of how a character turned out to be.
Overall, it was a quick and fun read, but I don't feel like it had any unique elements to stand out from other books of the same genre.

I will not be reviewing this title, as significant time has elapsed since I received the ARC and/or I was unable to finish it.

With summer ending, there's no better way to finish off the season than with a cute romance. Becky Wallace's Far From Normal is a quick, romantic read perfect for a sunny afternoon! The book isn't long at all – at a mere 240ish pages, it’s a nice refreshing story to pick up. It only took me about two hours to get through it, so it was great!

The story itself is a lot like one of those cheesy Wattpad books that were all the rage a couple years ago. A guy and a girl meet because of a mishap, and they seem to keep running into each other, and have to work together to achieve a goal. In this case, Maddie is working a sports news internship for her aunt, where she meets international football (soccer) start Gabe. Over the course of the summer, Maddie works with Gabe to fix his online reputation, and the two fall in love on the way. It’s a guilty pleasure book, although it was so nice to read something like this after my last read (a pretty heavy adult fantasy).

As with any contemporary romance, there's all these little quirks the author added to enhance the story – such as cooking together, small arguments, etc. I felt that the author did a good job of not overdoing any of the scenes, and keeping things light and energetic. Their relationship didn't feel too forced, but there were a couple places were things just didn’t read smoothly, or felt a bit rushed.
Going off that, I didn't really like having the love interest being the "perfect" guy. It gave the story a bit of an unrealistic vibe, and I found myself getting annoyed here and there with how the character was acting. As with our protagonist as well – she was stubborn, and a bit all over the place. I did like how they fit with each other, however. They go well together, and that's what made the romance work.

Besides the characters, some other things weren't that realistic. For example, when Maddie learned how to video edit and compile things in such a short time. I know, from experience, that using software to do things like that come with hours of experience, and just not a one-time thing. Especially if she was doing work for an international sports celebrity, I would've guessed she would be handing footage over to a professional to get it done. And when Gabe said that his mother would be upset about a certain measure he messed up in his piano playing – I played piano for 10+ years. None of my piano teachers, even, would even specify things like that from an Instagram video, noting that the rest of his piece was described as being so well played. I understand the author was going for a serious undertone with that last example, but it was a bit overexaggerated. I appreciated the recognition for music and piano though, as a musician myself.

Lastly, the pacing was a bit confusing – good here, a little fast there, a little slower here, - but given that the book is far from being 300 pages long, I wasn't too hung up on it. I liked that it was short, so I wouldn't have to read so much to find out what happens in the end. My usual reads have been ranging from 450-900 pages recently, so I loved being able to sit down with a book and finish it shortly!

And with that, is my review for Far From Normal! I enjoyed this book, even with all its flaws, and am rating it 3.5/5. Maybe I'll end up rereading it later on and change my mind, but that's how I felt going through the book my first time!

Maddie gets to be out from her genius brother's shadow when she earns a summer internship, but is then assigned to normalize Gabriel, a superstar footballer with a massive following, especially after blowing his team's hopes of a World Cup.

Sent to this camp to get "normal" social media content, he and Maddie have to work together to help him re-establish his reputation, but what starts as a simple (and unwelcoming) assignment brings two unlikely people together in a sweet, fun story.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was cute but the writing is clunky and long winded. Not one I would recommend a library purchase. There are too many other quality teen romances to purchase.

I loved that this story addressed disability and also loved the romance! A nice, fresh voice in YA romance :)

This was the perfect YA book. I loved it so much. The MC was so relatable and I really enjoyed reading her story.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is a quick read about a normal girl looking to get out from under her brother's shadow. In turn, she accidentally falls for the one she should not.

This is such a cute and fun contemporary novel about coming of age and just taking a leap of faith sometimes. I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this and I absolutely loved both Maddie and Gabriel! I love their interactions and how they grew and become their own person. This is quite character driven but I find myself liking them so much it did not bug me!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. I really enjoyed this sports/celebrity YA novel. The first part of the book had perfect pacing, making you fall in love with each character as you read it. I find the world of PR interesting and I really like the Chicago setting (books always seem to be in NYC or LA). The ending seemed rushed and I wasn’t ready for it to end.

Just when I thought I couldn’t love Becky’s books more, she goes and does something like this and knocks off my feet (cue the Maddie references!)!!!

I absolutely adored Maddie and Gabe and their slow burn friends to more love! Their relationship was truly special, helping each other grow and be better versions of themselves, each not wanting the other to change any fundamental piece of themselves! I wish we could’ve gotten more closer for several things, and although I think they could’ve made the story even stronger, overall the story was satisfying and beautiful as it is. Becky has quickly become a favorite author of mine and I can’t wait to see what she gives us next!

The story was cute, but I don't think it was fully developed. I really liked Gabe and Maddie, but I felt like I wanted to know more about both of them.

Review by Isabel, The Chef

*Thanks to MTMC tours and Page Street Publishing for the review copy. All thoughts are my own*

Far From Normal is a cute and sweet contemporary read, just what I was expecting / hoping for (and even a little bit more!).

It's a book about a young girl landing an internship in a sports marketing firm and it is hands down my favorite aspect of this book. Maddie's experience in her internship brought back memories of my own time as an intern, from so many relatable moments to the ever constant need to prove yourself worthy. Even though I loved my time as an intern, you do come across impossible co-workers just like Maddie does in Far From Normal.

Another relatable thing? All the second-hand embarrassment!!! Maddie is such a sweet and smart girl, but bad luck seems to follow her around. She always try to make the best of it though so she is very cool that way. I really liked her character.

The we meet Gabriel Fortunato who at first sight might seem like a stuck-up, but in reality he is a really nice guy. I enjoyed the banter between him and Maddie, and I will not forget that scene where they are trying to learn how to make pizza. So entertaining, I loved them! 😂❤️

All in all, I thought it was an amazing read! I had fun reading it and it's a nice window towards the ups and downs of internships 😩😂, not to mention first love and awkward relationships.

Far From Normal by Becky Wallace is a book that combines two of my interests: sports and marketing. The premise is original as the main character assists a soccer player in repairing his public image, and the main characters are both charming. This is a short and sweet read that is a perfect pick-me-up.

This book follows Maddie, who has gotten a summer internship at a sports marketing firm and has been assigned to work with a soccer player to fix his image on social media. As she gets to know him, she comes to see a different side of him and works to showcase the real Gabe through her assignment. I love books about sports, and it is also great to see representation of women in business. There is not as much soccer as I was expecting, but the focus on Maddie’s internship is also entertaining to read about.

❀ RELATABLE MAIN CHARACTER

Maddie is a relatable character who provides a great voice for the book. She is clumsy and awkward, but she knows what she wants and what she needs to do to get it. I loved how she works hard to learn new skills and to achieve her goals despite sabotage, and it is so heartwarming watching her gain confidence in herself and in her work. Gabe is also an interesting character who has been misunderstood, and I loved uncovering his true, authentic self alongside Maddie.

❀ QUICK AND WHOLESOME READ

Far From Normal by Becky Wallace is a light and cute read that sheds light on the sports marketing industry. I loved the premise as well as both the main characters. Soccer fans, and those looking for a quick and wholesome read, will enjoy this one.

OKAY! I CANNOT STOP THINKING about this book! It's one of the best rom-coms I've read in a while and I am absolutely in love. It's one of those books that leave you with a wide grin on your face, long after you've finished it and YES I AM IN THAT PHASE😂

Being a huge sports aficionado, I knew I had to pick up this rom-com because ahem well OPPOSITES ATTRACT, is my jam and MISS WALKING DISASTER meets CELEBRITY HEARTBREAKER, sign me up please😏


And I am quite pleased to say, it did leave up to all my expectations! I am not particularly fond of 'overdone cheesy scenes' and Far From Normal had that subtle tone, that made it realistic and not tacky 😏👀

Far from Normal is about loving someone and staying in love with them despite knowing how vulnerable they are or could be!

A delightful and pleasant read that you can fly through

I really loved Becky Wallace's novel Stealing Home last year and immediately needed to get my hands on Far From Normal when I saw that it was again sports related. Wallace did NOT disappoint and I might have loved Far From Normal even more than Stealing Home.

We get to follow Maddy who is this sweet. down-to-earth girl with some big city dreams. She scores and internship in Chicago with a PR firm. Her job is to basically smooth over some sticky situations their clients get into with the media. It's through her job that she meets up the Italian soccer (football?) prodigy Gabriel Fortunato. Gabriel is a lot to handle and Maddy definitely has her work cut out for her.

Far From Normal gave me all the rom-com feels and seriously shout-out to all the authors giving us cute romantic stories during these unprecedented times. Maddy was such an innocent soul, willing to work hard to achieve her dreams versus having them be handed to her. I loved her innocence during some of the more difficult assignments she faced. She reminded me a lot of my little sister and I couldn't help but cheer for her to succeed in all aspects of her life.

Gabriel was a LOT. Over-dramatic, rude, total jerk. When we first meet him I wasn't sold on shipping him and Maddy. The more we got to know him and the lack of privacy his lifestyle offers, the more I felt sorry for him. With Gabriel we open up this discussion about what it's like to not have real privacy and the other strings attached with being famous. Did he have some real issues? Yes, but it felt like his life was a series of decision made for him not by him. I could see why he would behave the way he did or have a bad attitude.

It was a quick read that I read in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. I loved how normal and relatable Maddy was. I saw someone mention in another review that they pictured Maddy's aunt as Lorelei Gilmore and I cannot think of a more perfect comparison. If you're looking for a cute and quirky rom-com do not hesitate to pick this one up!

I'll admit the reason this book initially caught my eye was learning the character was from Normal, Illinois as I am very familiar with the town. I enjoy reading books in the YA genre so I figured might as well give this one a shot. A decent read but not exactly memorable.

High school student Maddie McPherson is ready to leave her hometown of Normal, Illinois and move on to bigger and better things. She's landed a pretty cool summer internship at a sports marketing firm in Chicago. She is assigned a pretty big project as she will be working with teenage soccer star, Gabriel Fortunato, to develop content for his social media presence. And of course working together so closely, Maddie gets to really know Gabriel. Are they going to maintain a strictly business relationship or could it develop into something more?

By far the thing I loved most about this book was the fact it featured women working in what most people would consider a male-dominated industry. I'm glad the author had most of the plot revolving around sports marketing and working with athletes as I found it fascinating. Might not have been entirely realistic Maddie was given certain responsibilities given her age and inexperience, but I just rolled with it.

Unfortunately, I thought the romance elements of the story were somewhat lackluster. There was nothing significantly wrong with the two characters, it was more I just didn't pick up on a ton of sparks between the two of them. Thankfully there is a nice balance so it's not like the romance dominates the story.

Far From Normal is a sweet and light YA romance about soccer, summer, and social media.

Maddie McPherson has landed an awesome summer internship working at her aunt’s sports marketing firm. Within ing days of being there, Maddie is presented with the opportunity to create and post the social media content for teen soccer star Gabriel Fortunato. The goal is to repair Gabe’s image, but Maddie has to decide between doing her job well enough to get a glowing recommendation letter for college and falling for the boy who is quickly capturing her heart.

Far From Normal is perfect if you are in the mood for something very light. There are meet-cutes (a bike, a dog and a soccer ball, you do the math), working relationships that cross into romantic territory, a mean-girl work colleague Maddie must contend with, and romantic meals in Italian restaurants.

While Gabe and Maddie do discuss a few things about Gabe’s life in the spotlight, the incidents he has been involved in are never fully discussed and they never have any really deep conversations about this, so the book remains on the fluffy side. Fine, if you like cute and light stories, but I usually enjoy something with a bit more depth, so I didn’t connect that much with the characters.

Despite this being about a soccer star and sports marketing, the sports side of things don’t come into the story at all, so I’ll be shelving this under romance and not sport.

A quick read, perfect if you are looking for a fun and light YA romance.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

This book was great, however it felt like the whole story was missing a big piece, plot was great characters were amazing but that’s about it. It didn’t dive deeper into the story, and was just kind of bland, however as I said the story is good