Anything But Ordinary [Hardcover]

Thanks to an advance reading copy, I got a chance to check out Anything But Ordinary by Lara Avery a few weeks early. The premise to this YA novel is compelling - seventeen-year-old Bryce wakes up in the hospital after an Olympic diving trial gone wrong, only to discover that she missed the last five years of her life, and she's actually twenty-two. Her best friend Gabby and her boyfriend Greg commiserated together... to the point that they began dating each other, thinking Bryce would never come out of her coma. Bryce still feels seventeen in her head, as if the dive that landed her in the hospital was just yesterday, but in reality, her little sister Sydney is now seventeen, and running around with a partying crowd that likes to drink, dress alternatively, and stay out late. Bryce's parents have become distant from each other, due to the stress of her accident. Her mom and dad have different ideas about how to structure her recovery, and this leads to more bickering.

The novel's plot kept me reading, even though some of the dialogue was mildly bland and perhaps not as in depth as it could have been. I was interested to see how Bryce would handle the many difficult situations she had to face. I especially would have liked to see the relationship between Bryce and her sister Sydney fleshed out, because I got the impression we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. A few more flashback scenes of her former life would have helped her loss resonate with readers even more strongly.

One problem is that the Olympic trials plot sparked my interest, and yet the Olympics are barely discussed as a goal of Bryce's. After she wakes up, she realizes she will never be able to compete, and the novel doesn't focus on her coming to terms with this, favoring the romantic triangle instead. This felt sorely lacking because Bryce devoted practically her entire life to training for the Olympics and the loss of this dream is barely addressed.

The extreme insensitivity that Bryce's best friend Gabby displays when confessing that she is now dating Bryce's then-boyfriend, Greg, is almost unbelievable. While Gabby is later redeemed as a character, the initial reveal makes you wonder why Bryce was friends with Greg and Gabby in the first place. Neither of them even call her when she comes out of her coma while they're traveling Europe! I did think that Greg's confusion and cowardice was convincing and realistic, and the messiness and circular nature of the situation made me torn between whether Greg should remain with Gabby or return to Bryce. The slideshow of Greg and Gabby's five years together really captures what kind of bond they've forged in Bryce's absence.

There were moments when the author went a bit overboard in demonstrating Greg's flaws, in an attempt to contrast them with the strengths of the new love interest, med student Carter, who watched over Bryce and read to her while she was in her coma. For example, we see a flashback scene where Greg is smoking and Bryce won't stand within ten feet of him because she is an athlete.

Carter is a likeable love interest, although many aspects of his character are very Gary Stu, such as his extravagant plans to give Bryce her own version of a high school graduation, senior photo, and prom.

Avery does a good job of showing Bryce wavering between her seventeen-year-old self and her twenty-two-year-old self, because while physically she is twenty-two, mentally she is still seventeen in many ways. She feels behind, like a genuine late bloomer, when she attends Gabby's bachelorette party with girls who have already graduated from college and are comfortable drinking and dancing in clubs.

The novel is generally realistic fiction except for a subplot that deals with the visions Bryce unexpectedly experiences after awakening. The visions show her things she couldn't possibly remember from when she was in the coma, and sometimes they appear to predict future events. This is not very well explained, and it adds an element of the magical or mysterious to a novel that is otherwise rooted in everyday life. If the entire novel was magical realism, this might be slightly more believable, but as it is, it feels like a misplaced plot point, designed to give Bryce a "purpose" for coming back to life.

The cicada metaphor that opens and closes the novel is apt, and foreshadows the ending for the reader. Avery does a good job of lulling us into thinking nothing is wrong. I don't want to say too much about the ending, but there are some glaring concerns in regards to how Bryce's loved ones might respond to or misunderstand a decision she made... so while it's poetic in a sense, it's also unsettling.

Despite the above criticisms, common enough in a debut novel, as a reader I did enjoy the book and thought it was worth reading.

This book drew me in from the first words. Bryce is so easy to connect with and I wanted the best for her, and it was painful to go through her journey with her, especially at first when she realized that she lost five years of her life, and everything around her is so uncertain. Lara Avery writes beautifully, inserting just enough conflict, suspense, and character development to leave me hooked.
There is so much leaving me wondering, about her dreams/flashbacks/forwards wondering if they are true to life, or only in her head. I was so torn with the Greg situation, and I can totally understand all three sides. Its messy, and it is realistic, and it kept me hooked.
I also hung onto every scene with Carter. I pictured him kinda like John Carter in ER, and the image stuck with me. I liked Carter on TV, and I like the Carter in Anything but Ordinary as well.
Speaking of characters, I so felt for and wanted to smack Sydney all at once. I can totally see where she is coming from and what she must be feeling though.
The ending. Oh the ending. First I was furious, then I wanted to throw something, then I felt like crying. And then realized how poetic it was and felt like giving Lara an ovation for having such guts to write what she did.
Honestly, I think this will be a book that is either very well received or not liked at all. But I am of course on the loved it side of things, and Lara Avery is an author to watch for me.
Bottom Line: I was immersed in Anything but Ordinary. Superb main character with a cast of memorable secondary characters. Sad but weaved with the theme of hope, fight and strength.

The intriguing premise of Lara Avery's Anything But Ordinary is what initially drew me to this book- I mean girl-in-coma-wakes-up-years-later with visions sounds pretty captivating- unfortunately, the book's story execution and character development fell very flat.

Seventeen year old Bryce has a terrible accident on the day of her Olympic diving trials and ends up in a coma. Five years later, she miraculously wakes up and seems to recover swiftly. But everything is different- Bryce is now 22, her parents' marriage is breaking, her baby sister is now a rebellious, wayward 17 year old and her BFF and high school boyfriend have moved on. Then Bryce starts to have weird visions, visions of things that happened while she was asleep and visions of things to come. And through it all, Bryce must rediscover who she is and the life she wants to live.

Anything But Ordinary starts with a potentially complex and fascinating premise, but the story never lives up to that potential. This book seems to have an identity crisis of sorts; it can't decide if it's a contemporary or a paranormal or a love story. It has elements of all three, and individually these elements can, at times, be compelling and intriguing, but they don't really mesh well together or cohesively. The story just never finds its balance or flow.

The narration is anything but smooth and has a disjointed, clunky feel to it. At times I found myself fully engrossed in the story, but then the choppy flow would yank me out of the story. The writing itself is not bad, in fact there are quite a few really beautiful and thought-provoking lines, and the actual story being told is worth telling. However, the total story execution and development falls very short.

There are quite a few different arcs focused on in the story (Bryce's new romance, her parents fragile marriage, her sister's rebellion, her BFF and former boyfriend's relationship), yet not a whole lot actually happens from beginning to end. Avery crafts a poignant and insightful look into how Bryce's accident has affected everyone around her, but again the story as a whole lacks cohesiveness. However, I did appreciate the realism and believability found within this exploration. The fragile, distant and almost cold nature of Bryce's parents' marriage in the wake of their daughter's accident and coma feels startling real. And the reckless, desperate nature of Bryce's little sister's rebellion (drinking, smoking, relationships with many guys, etc) is easy to understand and believe.

For the most part, the characters in this book aren't particularly memorable or masterfully developed. I had a hard time connecting with Bryce. I certainly sympathized with her, but found her unrelatable; boring and, at times, unbearably selfish. I neither like or dislike the other important characters (Bryce's parents, her BFF Gabby, old boyfriend Greg and new boyfriend Carter) and never felt genuinely invested in them. But I did really love Sydney, Bryce's little sister. Now Sydney isn't always easy to like or take, she can be relentlessy bratty and makes stupid choices, but she's unabashedly honest and amusingly witty. But more than that, Sydney's pain, fear and desperation is so palpable and real. She's really the one shining gem in this otherwise dull lot of characters.

The ending of this book is annoyingly abrupt and unexpected and had me "WTFing" and scoffing in frustration. Honestly, after everything the author put her characters and me, the reader, through I felt kind of gypped by the ending *stomps foot*

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: I walked away from this book seriously conflicted and disappointed. Anything But Ordinary has a few bright spots (Sydney, a certain level of poignancy, and an arresting idea), but the disjointed flow, dull characters and less than great execution, makes it an overall lackluster read.