⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson blew me away a little bit. I thought I knew what happened, but oh no I did not!
I loved the setup of A Nearly Normal Family and that it is broken into parts. However, I really wish there had been a part four for Stella's friend Amina. If you read this you will find out why! I think the mom and Stella's parts could have been a bit shorter to make room for another part for her, but I still really enjoyed the way it was written even without it. I just wanted to know more about what happened from her perspective.
This was such a gripping novel, and it is mystery with a bit of courtroom drama thrown in. It really makes you wonder who is lying and who is telling the truth, and I really enjoyed the pacing. I felt like there was enough going on at any given time, and I had a hard time putting it down. Stella's mom's viewpoint was the majority of the courtroom part which was probably done since she is a lawyer by profession.
I thought the translation for A Nearly Normal Family was spot on, and nothing was hard for me to understand. Sometimes I have issues with translated books but that didn't happen here. I was also fascinated with how different the laws are in Sweden where this is set, versus the United States. There is a trigger for rape in this book, and I was amazed to learn just how young the age of consent was there.
Final Thought: A Nearly Normal Family really had me guessing and I was happy I didn't figure out who did it until the end. I think Edvardsson did an amazing job with this book and I was very happy to learn he has two others out as well because you can bet I will be tracking them down! If you are looking for a family mystery that asks how far a parent will go for their kids then this is the perfect choice.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book via Bookish First!
A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson blew me away a little bit. I thought I knew what happened, but oh no I did not!
I loved the setup of A Nearly Normal Family and that it is broken into parts. However, I really wish there had been a part four for Stella's friend Amina. If you read this you will find out why! I think the mom and Stella's parts could have been a bit shorter to make room for another part for her, but I still really enjoyed the way it was written even without it. I just wanted to know more about what happened from her perspective.
This was such a gripping novel, and it is mystery with a bit of courtroom drama thrown in. It really makes you wonder who is lying and who is telling the truth, and I really enjoyed the pacing. I felt like there was enough going on at any given time, and I had a hard time putting it down. Stella's mom's viewpoint was the majority of the courtroom part which was probably done since she is a lawyer by profession.
I thought the translation for A Nearly Normal Family was spot on, and nothing was hard for me to understand. Sometimes I have issues with translated books but that didn't happen here. I was also fascinated with how different the laws are in Sweden where this is set, versus the United States. There is a trigger for rape in this book, and I was amazed to learn just how young the age of consent was there.
Final Thought: A Nearly Normal Family really had me guessing and I was happy I didn't figure out who did it until the end. I think Edvardsson did an amazing job with this book and I was very happy to learn he has two others out as well because you can bet I will be tracking them down! If you are looking for a family mystery that asks how far a parent will go for their kids then this is the perfect choice.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book via Bookish First!