There’s something I’ve come to really appreciate about Carol Lynch Williams, and it’s this: she can write the emerging teen (that is, the 12-14 year old) like nobody’s business. It is extremely tough to write this tricky age because it can either read too young or too old, and the problem is readers at this age are so different, and their levels of experience and knowledge so diverse. Some are ready to read about tough issues because they’ve been there. Others haven’t had quite the life experiences and therefore aren’t always ready to make the leap from middle grade fiction to young adult. But fortunately, those who are really have something spectacular to discover in Williams’s work. Miles From Ordinary is another winner.

Lacey’s excited to begin her new job at the local public library. She’s finally old enough to have real responsibilities, and even though this job is really a volunteer gig with no pay, she needs it. She needs time away from her home and her mother to figure herself out. See, mom’s not stable. Mom is a very mentally ill woman who requires constant care and attention from Lacey. Mom’s pushed away help from her own sister already, and dad left the family long ago.

Maybe more exciting for Lacey than her post at the library is her mom’s job — Lacey convinced mom she, too, needs to get out of the house and make something of herself. Although mom protests, the fear and social anxiety eating away at her, she decides she’ll try it, and she gets a job at the grocery store. Together, Lacey and her mother take the bus to their respective new jobs on this day, and both set themselves on the path of making their lives better.

Unfortunately, things don’t go as smoothly as Lacey hopes they will when she leaves work. When she makes it to mom’s new place of employment, mom is not there. In fact, she finds out mom quit the job just minutes after getting there, and now Lacey crosses her fingers that mom will be at home, in bed, and no where else. But when Lacey gets home, things aren’t what she hoped, and mom may have finally hit rock bottom.

This rapid pace book packs a punch with it — as readers, we’re right there along with every move Lacey makes. We care a lot about her and we feel awful for her because she’s been responsible for keeping an eye on her mother. She doesn’t get a chance to live for herself, and we know how excited she is to finally have something to do with her time. She’s eager to throw herself into her volunteer gig at the library where her aunt once ran the children’s department. We want her to succeed and have a killer day and positive start to this new chapter in her life.

And the thing of it all is, we don’t wish ill on her mother. Even though mom is made out to be a bit of a demon — not because she mistreats Lacey but because she’s so needy and dependent upon her in her day-to-day operation — we actually care a lot about her, too. She’s got a chance to make a positive change in her life, and we see her outlet to independence. It’d be easy to develop anger to mom, but we can’t; in fact, despite the fact she ruins Lacey’s day, we still care about her mom’s well being. We want her to be at home in bed, her depression taking over her. We don’t want her hurt.

The entire story takes place in one day, but there is so much packed into the story. We get the history of Lacey’s life, and we know she deserves so much better than she has. We get glimpses into her mother’s life story, too, without being bogged down in it. We’re getting it from Lacey’s perspective, which is, of course, skewed and needs to be. It’s pretty masterful story telling to do so much with so little — because in addition to taking place in one day, this book clocks in at under 200 pages — and there is nothing missing here. When I finished the story, I felt like it came to the right conclusion and that it didn’t need additional juice elsewhere.

Key to understanding why this book is so powerful is thinking about Lacey being 14. All we want is success for her, and we don’t necessarily mean success in a financial manner. We want Lacey to have success in understanding what it is to be her own person, independent from her mother. She deserves a chance to do what she wants to do and escape the ghosts which haunt her mom. She’s stronger than they are, and she knows this. But she’s still weighed down because of family decisions which left her in her mother’s care; however, Lacey is smart enough to know when she finally needs to seek help. When she’s taken too much of the weight on herself and when she needs to be herself. It’s a pretty powerful moment in the story. While some readers might believe the things Lacey realizes or thinks to herself read older than 14, I would heartily disagree — anyone who has lived through something like this knows what sometimes, young people are forced to grow up well before they’re meant to. Lacey is one such teen, and we can’t help but completely believe her. We also can’t help but breathe an incredible sigh of relief at the decisions she makes and the head she’s got on her shoulders. Lacey is a hell of a memorable character, much like Hope is in Glimpse and Kyra is in The Chosen One.

I also love that it’s Lacey coming to Lacey’s own understanding. There is not another person telling her what to do or think, and there is not a boy mixed up in her coming into herself. I bring it up since it’s a bone I’ve had to pick with a number of books lately. But oh, not here! Lacey is a pretty dynamite female character all her own.

This book will have appeal to young and older teen readers and is an excellent read alike to Holly Schindler’s A Blue So Dark (reviewed here). Hand this to readers who are ready for a mature and insightful voice, as well as those who may be struggling to find a story with which to connect. I really think there’s an understated power in Williams’s books to hook more reluctant readers, especially since her characters are younger.