Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal

THE BREAKFAST CLUB meets THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER in this big-hearted novel from debut author, Gretchen Schreiber.

Ellie Haycock has always separated her life into sections: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. At home, Ellie is a typical student and proud member of her high school’s speech and debate team alongside her best friend and her boyfriend. At the hospital, Ellie has an ever-growing team of doctors and a mom who won’t stop posting about the details of her life and illness online. It’s not hard for Ellie to choose which of the two she prefers.

When Ellie is forced to return to the hospital for an extended stay, she worries about her two lives colliding, and all she wants is to get back home as soon as possible.

But this stay is different. Ellie becomes close with a group of friends including Ryan, a first-timer who’s still optimistic about the doctors that Ellie stopped trusting years ago. Despite their differences, she can’t seem to keep him out of her head. Ellie’s life has never been normal, but maybe between these fast friendships and falling in love, she can find her own version of normal.

GRETCHEN SCHREIBER grew up between the hills of Kansas and the hospitals of Minnesota, but now calls the hills of Los Angeles home. After getting her MFA from USC Film School, she works as a professional bookworm for Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s media company. She is always down to run away to Disneyland or a book store.