Miles from Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams

Miles from Ordinary
Carol Lynch Williams

Thirteen-year-old Lacey wakes to a beautiful summer morning excited to begin her new job at the library, just as her mother is supposed to start work at the grocery store. Lacey hopes that her mother's ghosts have finally been laid to rest; after all, she seems so much better these days, and they really do need the money. But as the hours tick by and memories come flooding back, a day full of hope spins terrifyingly out of control.... “No one can get inside the head and heart of a 13-year-old girl better than Carol Lynch Williams, and I mean no one," said James S. Jacobs, Professor of Children's Literature at Brigham Young University, of her breakout novel, The Chosen One.  Now this award-winning YA author brings us an equally gripping story of a girl who loves her mother, but must face the truth of what life with that mother means for both of them.

I will warn you all now. This book was written by my latest Creative Writing professor at Brigham Young University and I loved learning from her. I will do my best to keep out the bias that I may have because I liked her so much. But the fact is, I also like the other book that I've read of hers, The Chosen One. Both are darker than some YA out there. I like the dark, though. ;)

You can tell when you read one of Carol's books. The writing is concise and meaningful. There aren't any unnecessary sentences, and she takes and grabs hold to the modern style of writing. Not everything is in a paragraph; sometimes there are words on their own or with unique punctuation. All of this adds to the tension and feelings that young Lacey are going through. I'm a fan of this.

The plot of this story only happens in one day. Information is given through flashbacks and these were done very nicely. It's sad to see what Lacey has had to go through because of her mother's mental illness. Having the flashbacks tell this helps the reader believe this story. The ending fits. It's not a 100% happy but you know that Lacey should be able to get through it.

I liked reading Lacey's view on everything. You can tell that this girl has gone through a lot in her short life. I could feel the emotion coming off the pages and couldn't wait to finish this.

If you want a well-written story with an emotional roller coaster added in, then this should be something that you'll enjoy.