Miles from Ordinary: A Novel
Thirteen-year-old Lacey hopes that this summer day will be a new start. She has gotten her mother a job at Winn-Dixie because they desperately need the money, and Lacey will be following in her aunt Linda�s footsteps by working at the public library. Lacey craves an opportunity to be �normal,� to flirt with her neighbor Aaron and not have to watch over Momma, who seems so much better these days. But the day quickly spins out of control when Momma disappears. Seeing things afresh through Aaron�s eyes as they search for her together, Lacey comes to realize that it�s impossible for her to help her mother on her own. This gripping story by the author of The Chosen One (2009) is as suspenseful as it is painful. Lacey�s love for her mother, mixed with resentment and frustration over Momma�s mental illness, is thoroughly believable (if a little sophisticated). Provocatively dark and at times downright scary, this novel will have readers rushing to the unforeseen, achingly authentic conclusion. Grades 6-9. --Melissa  Moore