The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman

The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman is a sweet story about a 12-year-old dealing with the death of his best friend who decides to follow their mutual dream of competing in a comedy festival. Told with humour and compassion, this is a story about facing your fears, living with grief, and finding your way. 

But this book falls into the 'good but not quite wow' category for me. If I stand back, I can recognize and applaud its great intentions. It has an interesting premise and a rag tag group of characters, but when I get into the actual telling of the story, I struggled to connect with it. The plot dragged a lot for me with too much repetition between the different POVs and I couldn't help feeling like it was trying too hard to be quirky and funny. It felt awkwardly forced. 

This book has some delightful gems, and my sweet takeaways are Norman's positive outlook, his love for his best friend Jax and his perseverance. This boyhood friendship with Jax and Norman's on-going grief was compassionately portrayed, poignantly told, and was refreshing to witness.

This was a good read but a much slower paced story than I expected. I appreciated how the themes were introduced but felt that the slower pace detracted from my overall enjoyment. I think many readers will enjoy this charming debut with a main character whose gumption and positive outlook will make him quite memorable.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for my advanced copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Julietta Henderson

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Harlequin (Mira)

First Published: April 13, 2021

Opening Line: Sadie: When I was born, my insides lay outside 

my body for twenty-one days.

Book Description from GoodReads: A triumphant and touching debut about the unlikeliest superstar you’ll ever meet.

Twelve-year-old Norman Foreman and his best friend, Jax, are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, with a plan to take their act all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe. But when Jax dies, Norman decides the only fitting tribute is to perform at the festival himself. The problem is, Norman’s not the funny one. Jax was.

There’s also another, far more colossal objective on Norman’s new plan that his single mom, Sadie, wasn’t ready for: he wants to find the father he’s never known. Determined to put a smile back on her boy’s face, Sadie resolves to face up to her own messy past, get Norman to the Fringe and help track down a man whose identity is a mystery, even to her.

Julietta Henderson’s delightfully charming, tender and uplifting debut takes us on a road trip with a mother and son who will live in the reader’s heart for a long time to come, and teaches us that—no matter the odds—we must always reach for the stars.