How to be Normal

A timely, moving and empowering coming-of-age novel about finding yourself and finding your place in the world. "Thoughtful, complex and full of hope." Sophie Jo, author of Red FlagsAstrid is about to start her last year at high school. And her first. When her dad loses his job, Astrid's homeschooling comes to an end. Until now, she has lived within the confines of a tightly controlled, contracted world where there's no room for anything ... except following her father's rules and pretending that everything is normal. As Astrid, and her mum, tentatively expand their world, they struggle to break free of their ingrained wariness and self-doubt. But with hope, new friends, and the strength of a promise, Astrid has a chance to find out what she wants, who she loves, and who she really is. Winner of the inaugural Walker Books Manuscript Prize, this is a brilliantly written YA debut full of insight, humour and pathos, that deftly explores themes of coercive control and coming of age.

Ange Crawford is a writer, editor and PhD candidate living on unceded Wurundjeri land. Her debut young adult novel, How to Be Normal, won the inaugural Walker Books Manuscript Prize. She writes in many different styles, but her work is often connected by her enduring interests in queerness, art, language, storytelling, place(lessness) and coming of age. Apart from writing and editing, she is a fan of cats and synthesisers, and can often be found with an armful of books in a local independent bookstore.