Anything But Ordinary

Reach for this book when your teenager is struggling with a sense of lost time, whether due to illness, a major life transition, or the feeling that peers have surpassed them. Bryce wakes from a five-year coma to find her seventeen-year-old self trapped in a twenty-two-year-old world where her little sister is now her peer and her boyfriend has moved on. It is a poignant exploration of identity, grief, and the resilience required to rebuild a life when your original dreams are no longer possible. While it touches on the supernatural through Bryce's new psychic-like premonitions, the core of the story is a grounded, realistic look at reclaiming one's agency. It is best suited for mature middle schoolers and high school students who appreciate deeply emotional, character-driven narratives about finding beauty in an unexpected reality.