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Usborne has acquired a new YA title from Holly Bourne, author of Soulmates and The Manifesto on How to be Interesting.
The publisher acquired the UK and Commonwealth rights to Am I Normal Yet? in a two-book deal from Madeleine Milburn of The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency.
Am I Normal Yet? is about a girl called Evie who is recovering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). After losing three years of her life to the disorder, she has come off her anti-depressants and is about to start at a new college. Along the way she goes on a bad date and makes two new friends, Amber and Lottie.
Bourne is planning on writing a trilogy, each one focusing on one of the three girls and about how the strength of their friendship carries them through life.
"I'm ridiculously thrilled to be working with Usborne again, especially on a series about feminism - my favourite topic, ever,” she said. “Am I Normal Yet? is the book I wanted to exist when I was a teenager, and I can't wait to explore OCD, gender, bad boyfriends, and the importance of cheesy snacks with my readers."
Rebecca Hill, fiction director at Usborne, said the story if “raw, real and relevant”. She added: “What I admire most about this book is the painfully honest portrayal of mental health. At times my heart broke for Evie. Holly’s characterization of OCD/anxiety really opened my eyes – in a way I haven’t seen in UK YA before.”
Usborne will publish Am I Normal Yet? in summer 2015.