Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson (review)

With a sister limited by epilepsy and autism, Maddy has resigned herself to a life without friends or lovers, dedicated instead to sharing caregiving responsibilities with her single mom. Then she meets Albert, who is good-looking and witty, and who overcomes Maddy’s reluctance to date with snappy dialogue and clumsy but cute romantic gestures. He’s got his own headaches, though, as his father constantly berates him for still living at home at nineteen and for having no ambitions his father respects. Though he originally wanted to move to Bali to become a surf instructor, Albert is happy to stay in town and help Maddy shoulder her responsibilities. Their growing relationship thus seems like a liberating way forward for them both until tragedy strikes, and a sweet, sexy romance takes a Lurlene McDaniel twist into morbid sentimentality. The frank representation of Maddy’s sister’s disabilities may be worth the schmaltzy ending, however, as Robinson doesn’t sugarcoat the sacrificial realities of living with someone who needs constant care. Maddy is no saint, and neither is her mother; while they each may need the occasional night of liquid escape, they never lapse into resentment, and Maddy’s experience of advocating for her sister gives her the credible chutzpah to stand up to Albert’s bullying father. Mostly, though, it’s the readers looking for a weepy end to romance who may appreciate this.