Review: Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal by Gretchen Schreiber

Ellie’s coming of age story is unique and immersing. Schreiber’s personal foreword at the beginning of the novel sets the stage for a meaningful exploration of what it means to live with disability as a child and the ins and outs of respectful and meaningful interactions.

I absolutely loved the characters in this story. They were great to connect with and learn from. I liked the development of the community throughout the story. It was akin to a found family story (my favourite).

Ellie, the protagonist, was a force to be reckoned with and her character development was careful and personalized. I liked how she stayed true to herself while learning how to be open and make meaningful connections.

This coming of age novel is an important addition to your tbr list. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

A sweet and charming book I wasn't expecting. Ellie is such a lovely character. An angsty, stubborn teen going through all the normal things a teenager experiences, while dealing with her VATERs syndrome. A great book for a YA audience.

This book hit close to home having grown up with a childhood best friend going through cancer treatments, however it gave me a very different perspective. I enjoyed Ellie’s voice through the book but at times the book seemed repetitive and the pacing was slow for me. Over all I thought it was a good read

When I first requested this book, I wasn’t sure what to think about it. It wasn’t exactly what the description promised, but I liked it anyways. I learned a lot about how children with medical problems are treated by doctors but also their families. I also learned a lot about different conditions I never would’ve known about.
I think the epilogue was a bit rushed, but I’m also someone who loves a good epilogue.

This novel dove into a lot of the trials and tribulations of being a teen and also having a life-altering disease. The main character, Ellie, was relatable but also exhausting and hard to like.

This one was a bit rough for me. I thought I was getting a romance. This is more Chick Lit. I wasn’t a huge fan of Ellie. She was a bit toooo stubborn. So much so that she often made it difficult for herself and that grew tiresome. Her character arc was also limited to the end of the novel, so I feel like it wasn’t as flushed out as it should have been.

I struggled with this book, while I like the idea of Ellie and learning the world through her eyes, it was really hard to read. She is so angry with everyone that I had a tough time trying to connect with her. I really hope the author writes another book from the other main characters sides at some point though.

A poignant novel about a rare disability, VATER syndrome, that requires frequent hospitalizations for MC Ellie Haycock. She learns to separate her real life friends from her hospital friends while her Mom blogs publicly about her illness. Written with great heart by the author, who has the same syndrome.

Oh Ellie, I wish I was your friend so I could tell you that you are enough. This book is an honest and beautiful look at what it is like to grow up with a disability, specifically what hospital life does to your life-life. Thank you for this ARC!

Ellie Haycock is a bundle of laughs, cries, and utmost enjoyable reading experience! Grab this one, your towel, and sunnies, and head to the beach! The perfect summer read!

Ellie Haycock is straddling two worlds and not very successfully. As a teenager with VACTERL syndrome, hospitals and surgeries have become, if not a normal part of her life, then a very common occurrence. When she's not having surgeries to correct the disease's many debilitating effects, she wants to live as normal a life as possible - hanging out with her boyfriend Jack, her friend Brooke, winning speech competitions and dreaming of being an actress. Unfortunately, a mysterious lung ailment has her back in the hospital's Family Home among the typically temporary friendships there, contemplating another scary surgery that may (or may not) be what gets her back to her "real" life. What's more terrifying than another surgery, though, is when Ellie's desperate attempts to keep her two lives separate, sheltering her "normal" friends from the cruel realities of her disability and eagerly leaving behind her "hospital" friends in between surgeries threaten to alienate everyone she loves.

Ellie is a vivid, if occasionally frustrating, narrator. Faced with her "normal" friends during her hospital time, she can't bear to share even the smallest tidbit of what she's going through. Instead, she quickly makes a group of hospital friends, including Caitlin, another teen with VACTERLs, Luis with the "little c" cancer, an overly chipper volunteer named Veronica, and prickly Ryan Kim who changes her perspective and maybe...her heart? The unique setting makes fast friendships and perhaps even some romance more believable than they would otherwise be.

This book gives readers an inside look into the struggle of being a constant patient without ever having the luxury of being able to hope to leave the hospital cured. Ellie's frustration with the constant swing of the pendulum between what she considers her to be her real life and her life in the hospital is palpable. Additionally, her mother is one of those parents who shares her whole life story via a blog, that as she grows older, feels more and more invasive. If you've ever seen a blog/Facebook page/Instagram, etc. featuring a very sick or disabled kid and wondered how weird it would be to be that kid, this book is for you.

Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal is an excellent coming of age book with a welcome unique perspective on disability that mingles tough topics like medical autonomy, not being heard by doctors, and privacy with the more typical page-turning stuff of romance and friendship drama. At times it felt like everything was happening a little too quickly, Ellie was a little too obtuse about reality, and the dialogue had a tendency to reference thoughts that were more implied than actually written which left me feeling occasionally like I'd missed something. In the end, though, I was touched by Ellie's discovery that all her lives add up to just one and that there is healing to be found in letting people in.

Ellie Haycock is totally normal. Well, aside from attempting to keep two parts of her life completely separate from one another while she navigates living with Vater Syndrome, but according to her (not Caitlin) that's totally normal. When her school life collides with her hospital life, Ellie must decide if her original prognosis was correct. Does everyone outside the Home eventually find hospital life too much to handle? Are hospital friendships really fleeting after all and does she even want them to end anymore now that she's met a new group of friends?

Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal doesn't sugarcoat illnesses. Unlike other books, we don't have quotable characters living to inspire those who haven't had to experience the pain, heartache, and confusion of hospital life. We have Ellie and she's telling it like it is no matter how uncomfortable it gets. The relationships in this book are difficult for our main character to navigate, including the relationship with her mom, and they feel more genuine for it. This book will stick with you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I appreciate the topic of this book. I don’t believe there are a ton of medical stories out there like this one. I love that it didn’t feel forced or full of Hallmark happy endings. It tells a more real story than that which can help build empathy for the characters and the unique situations they are in. The theme of found/chosen family runs deep in this book as well.

Unfortunately this book did not hit the mark for me in terms of writing or character development. I found Ellie to be a difficult character to like. I understand she is going through a lot but it was challenging to root for her in relationships. Ellies relationship with her mother was troublesome. I wasn’t sure whose side I was supposed to be on. Maybe that was the point? However it just made me dislike them both. Some of the side characters were interesting and had a bit more personality, but the writing didn’t serve those characters well. They needed more time and more nuance in their own stories for their characters to be more effective in Ellie’s story.

This book was ok. I liked the disability representation. But I felt like the overall story was lacking and the ending was rushed. I really wish I had liked this book more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for allowing me to read an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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Ellie Haycock has always separated her life into sections: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. At home, Ellie is a typical student and proud member of her high school’s speech and debate team alongside her best friend and her boyfriend. At the hospital, Ellie has an ever-growing team of doctors and a mom who won’t stop posting about the details of her life and illness online. It’s not hard for Ellie to choose which of the two she prefers.

When Ellie is forced to return to the hospital for an extended stay, she worries about her two lives colliding, and all she wants is to get back home as soon as possible.

But this stay is different. Ellie becomes close with a group of friends including Ryan, a first-timer who’s still optimistic about the doctors that Ellie stopped trusting years ago. Despite their differences, she can’t seem to keep him out of her head. Ellie’s life has never been normal, but maybe between these fast friendships and falling in love, she can find her own version of normal.

What is normal? What is healthy? Is there something more nefarious at hand here? Adults and teens will enjoy this book as the mystery of Ellie’s life is presented and worked through. Ellie is a wonderful character to spend time with as she tries to find out what is normal … for the world and for her. And what does she WANT in her life to be real and normal? Well, that is the heart of this wonderfully written book that was a delight to read. #shortbutsweetreviews

Way too many f-bombs. Not worth my time at all and I do not recommend. It's sad when something the could have been good is ruined by vulgarity.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC and for the opportunity to review this book. I am voluntarily leaving this review .

so first off thank you to netgalley for the digital e-arc of this book!

I have many thoughts on this book… a lot good, some bad.

I’ll start with what worked for me:
1. Her friends! Phenomenal friends, who showed up for her even when she didn’t want them to (minus Jack he makes me angry)
2. The general story. I grew up in a hospital, nearly five years on the endocrinology floor of a hospital. I could relate SO MUCH to a lot of this story. It felt like being sort of seen. I also like the ending where she isn’t like cured and done with her disabilities. That’s not how it works.
3. The characterization of doctors. Like for real, they aren’t always right and sometimes they treat lives as a science experiment. There was a bit too much doctor hate at one point. I don’t really respect people who say “all doctors are evil, stupid, and no good”… there are some AMAZING doctors out there, some who even saved my brother’s life. (That being said there were 1000% some crumby ones, I think this does a fair job of showing both sides).


What didn’t work for me:
1. Ellie as a character was too jaded and frankly annoying. I can understand her frustration, I really can, but she is too hateful and angry for me to want to cheer for her.
2. Ellies “non hospital people can’t understand unless they themselves are under the needle” mantra was also not acceptable, and frankly just not true. As someone who has been in this position, you CAN get a group of non medical people to understand. Granted, a lot of people don’t understand, but some real ones do.
3. The romance… I didn’t feel it 🤷🏻‍♀️
4. The mom/blog storyline. The mom just felt selfish and so did Ellie so I didn’t feel bad for either of them…


Overall, I liked the story! But there was too much hatred/anger/selfishness for me to want to read this and get excited for a happy ending, or at least an ending.

Sadly this book wasn't for me. Requested it without being able to see the synopsis & it's just not my jam. But the cover is adorable & I'm sure it will be some people's cup of tea.

Review coming soon.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.

This is an absolute must read! Fantastic narrative about Ellie, who has a disability and her mother has always blonde about it. It’s a great statement on able ism and what’s called disability “inspiration porn” and why we need to start seeing other disability narratives. This is a great book to start with if you’re unfamiliar. Schreiber also has a great way of weaving an interesting story that kept me guessing how it would go, describing her condition in a way that’s accessible but also not pandering to the abled gaze, and an interesting and lovable cast of side characters. A perfect summer read!