Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams

Lacey's mother is not well. She is plagued by the demons of years past and wrong decisions she made; because of her illness, she can't support herself or her fourteen-year-old daughter. Needing money to survive, Lacey gets a job at the local library- the same library where her aunt, who abandoned Lacey, worked years ago. She hopes that she can find any trace of the woman who left, the woman who can piece together the broken parts of her mother's mind. Miles From Ordinary chronicles one day in Lacey's life, the one day that changes her life forever.

I thought the book was extremely well-written. The author was able to portray what actually goes on in a normal fourteen-year-old's head- the narrator was not immature nor too mature. However, I was confused about her mother's illness; the words and phrases that the author uses seem to show a woman plagued by actual ghosts instead of a woman who is mentally ill. I thought there would be a supernatural aspect to the novel when I first read the description; however, this book has nothing of the sort. I liked that the novel encompassed only one day of Lacey's life. If the novel had minimized the depth of the descriptions of what happens, the reader would be left confused and wondering what had occured. All in all, Miles From Ordinary was a good read and I would suggest this novel to those who are interested in the life of a fourteen year old with hardships to face that are beyond her years.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States