Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
Published: June 19, 2012 by Bloomsbury
Received: egalley for review

A powerful debut novel about a young Marine's return home from Afghanistan and the new life and love he finds while fending off the ghosts of war.

When Travis Stephenson returns home from Afghanistan, his parents are on the brink of divorce, his brother has stolen his girlfriend and his car, and nightmares of his best friend getting killed keep him completely spooked. But when he runs into Harper Gray, a girl who despises him for trashing her reputation with a middle school lie, life actually starts looking up. As Travis and Harper see more of each other, he starts falling for her and a way through the family meltdown, the post-traumatic stress, and the possibility of an interesting future begins to emerge.

His sense of humor, sense of his own strength, and incredible sense of honor make Travis an irresistible and eminently lovable hero in this fantastic and timely debut novel. {goodreads.com}

Stop. Take a minute to breath. Process. Allow it all to sink in. Now go back & re-read it all over again.  That is my initial reaction to this book.  Contemporaries hold a special place in my heart when it comes to literature because they make you feel such strong emotions.  I know any book can have that effect on a person, but contemporary pieces like this one have the ability to grab my heart, twist it, hug it, break it in to a million pieces, and then put it all back together again swelling with pure love.  Trish Doller's debut novel Something Like Normal is far from normal.  It is contemporary fiction at it's best.

Travis has just come home on leave from spending the last year serving his country in Afghanistan.  His mother's welcome wagon, along with his judgmental father, and second-hand brother aren't exactly home for Travis.  He prefers the camaraderie of his brother-hood in the hot, sandy desert.  Travis is also dealing with the effects of losing one of his mates in battle.  The tough facade he tries to portray while on base begins to crack once he is confined back inside his childhood home.  Though he's only home for a few weeks, he tries his best to bide his time among a sea of faces that have now become strangers to him.  What he once thought was important, now holds less meaning.  Travis is a changed young man, but he doesn't quite know it yet.

Harper is the girl who tries to show him that change, but it didn't start off that easy.  Their relationship begins with a punch to the face (Travis' face that is) and the angst just keeps rising.  These two characters are probably one of the most well written love interests I have come across.  Their attitudes towards one another felt so believable to me.  Harper has her reservations about Travis in the beginning due to their past.  We also learn that Harper is a forgiving person, with a heart that goes on for miles.  I adore this girl, so much.  She was the perfect match for Travis.  She off-sets his bruiting, hostile persona so well.  The two of them together lit up every page.  Their love was a slow build, and oh man.. those slow builds are the best!  Feel the burn.  I was completely convinced by their true feelings.

The story goes beyond just love though, it digs deep in to family turmoil.  The relationship building between Travis and his mom was another favorite of mine to witness.  I love when an author gives secondary characters such strong voices.  Travis' mom did not fade in to the background, she stood strong in every scene, even during her weakest moments.  There were quite a few other secondary characters that captured my heart as well.  The involvement kept me turning the pages.  I knew I was in for some heavy heart ache, especially when it includes a story about a young man coming home from a foreign war.  There are so many challenges a person can face, and it's right to assume they will come home a changed person.

Trish Doller, I bow down to you.  Your ability to tell a story with so much depth, compassion, angst, and believability has left me breathless.  I want to re-read this book a dozen more times.  Thank you for sharing with us one of the best contemporary novels.  I can't wait for the world to read this one.  It's definitely an impressionable piece.