The Other Normals Audiobook

Given the chance, fifteen-year-old Peregrine ""Perry"" Eckert would dedicate every waking moment to Creatures & Caverns, an epic role-playing game rich with magical creatures, spell casting, and deadly weapons. The world of C&C is where he feels most comfortable in his own skin. But that isn't happening—not if his parents have anything to do with it. Concerned their son lacks social skills, they ship him off to summer camp to become a man. They want him to be outdoors playing with kids his own age and meeting girls—rather than indoors alone, with only his gaming alter ego for company. Perry knows he's in for the worst summer of his life.

Everything changes, however, when Perry gets to camp and stumbles into the World of the Other Normals. There he meets Mortin Enaw, one of the creators of C&C, and other mythical creatures from the game, including the alluring Ada Ember, whom Perry finds more beautiful than any human girl he's ever met. Perry's new otherworldly friends need his help to save their princess and prevent mass violence. As they embark on their quest, Perry realizes that his nerdy childhood has uniquely prepared him to be a great warrior in this world, and maybe even a hero. But to save the princess, Perry will have to learn how to make real connections in the human world as well.

Bestselling author Ned Vizzini delivers a compulsively readable and wildly original story about the winding and often hilarious path to manhood.

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"I don't know much about role playing games and in this book Vizzini created a complicated one. At some points I was confused. I had trouble keeping track of the different types of creatures. Otherwise, the book was at first a little slow but picked up soon enough to be well liked. The main character, who alternates between Perry and Peregrine, is at first somewhat unlikeable. He's socially awkward and has no interest in doing anything but playing his RPGs. Honestly though, I don't blame him. His family dynamic is messed up. Anyway, his parents send him to camp in order to normalize his social behaviors. However, this is exactly the opposite of what happens, as he falls into a world much like those displayed in his games. He meets creatures and wants to stay in this alternate world but he has a mission. The end is a little bit surprising but also somewhat expected."

— Autumn (4 out of 5 stars)