Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery Blog Tour

 Some books ooze elegance and that's just what Nicole Flattery's novel Nothing Special has in abundance. 

Taking a different perspective on some of And Warhol's life, this author manages to captivate a whole new audience with her story telling.

New York City, 1966. Seventeen-year-old Mae lives in a run-down apartment with her alcoholic mother and her mother's sometimes-boyfriend, Mikey. She is turned off by the petty girls at her high school, and the sleazy men she typically meets. When she drops out, she is presented with a job offer that will remake her world entirely: she is hired as a typist for the artist Andy Warhol.

Described as a coming of age tale, we are introduced to our narrator Mae as we zig-zag back and forth between her present life and her memorable teenage years.

I could tell from the language used and the detail within that much time and research has gone into this book.

Original and well observed, Nothing Special is actually something quite special indeed.

There were strong feelings that I was being transported somewhere else with every chapter that I devoured.

At 230 pages, it isn't the longest of novels but for a book this length, it still managed to pack an almighty punch.

Intrigue took over.

The way Mae dealt with her life. Absent father, alcoholic mother. For a girl who didn't really have many trusting adults to guide her, she certainly was brave and determined. I admired her strength of character even when others wanted to knock her down.

When this young woman is taken on as a typist in And Warhol's 'factory', it was like we got a glimpse into a different part of that life, a remarkable view of the sixties in New York. 

I've seen other reviews complaining that the story doesn't match the blurb, how it is deceiving in some way but for me it's the complete opposite. 

I think we got exactly what Flattery was aiming for. 

Not an overly dramatic, made up tale. No, what this is is a well observed, authentic piece of writing that shows us friendships, relationships and takes us on a journey of discovery, looking at an alternative way of finding ones identity in some truly wild and turbulent times.

This was never about Warhol, he was just the catalyst to this beautifully stylish prose.