8:23 AM
Nikki
There are mice.
Lacey, our heroine, is holding on to hope. Hope that everything is going to be okay. Hope that her mom will be able to handle her new job at the grocery store. Hope that she'll get to volunteer at the local library as she's planned. But with Lacey's mom, it's hard to be certain about anything. So much depends on what her Granddaddy tells her momma.
The novel opens with a bad dream, but one could argue that Lacey's bad dream is nothing compared to her real life, the daily trauma of living with a mother who is mentally ill. It's a painful life, a lonely life, having that much responsibility, feeling the weight of the whole world on her shoulders.
In the quietest of moments, Lacey dreams of simple things: having a friend to talk and laugh with, having some time to herself--time for herself, I should say. No one is taking care of Lacey. No one is helping her, supporting her.
Miles from Ordinary is the story of one day--just one day--in the life of a troubled family. On this one day, her mom will start her new job, she'll start her new volunteer job for the summer at the library, she'll talk to the cutest guy in the neighborhood, Aaron, and maybe just maybe make a real friend. Of course, that is just the part of the day that goes well...
Miles from Ordinary is a compelling read, dark yet powerful. It's well written, and oh the characters! Especially Lacey and Aaron.
Carol Lynch Williams is also the author of The Chosen One and Glimpse.
© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
Posted in
2011
,
dysfunctional families
,
library book
,
mental disorders
,
YA Fiction
,
YA realistic fiction
