Review Detail

5.0 1

A Pain Less Ordinary

Young Adult Indie 175

Nothing Ordinary about A Pain Less Ordinary

January 17, 2018

Overall rating

4.3

Writing Style

N/A

Plot

N/A

Characters

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Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

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If you are looking for a happy-feel-good beach read, A Pain Less Ordinary is not the book for you. But if you are looking for something with significantly more substance which will force you to reexamine the reality many teens face and make you feel a wide range of emotions, I highly recommend this offering.

Becca doesn't have a happy life. She's never had a happy life. But when she chooses to tell her mother something she knows will be painful to hear, she ends up making things far worse for herself and her family. Throughout the narrative, Becca's character development is painfully authentic. Although at times we seem to drown in her pessimism, it was necessary for the author to portray Becca's hopelessness in such a realistic way. To counter-balance her anguish, we're introduced to Zephyr, the boy who keeps Becca just sane enough to survive. The author does a lovely job of balancing their friendship on the tip of a pin, never knowing whether they are destined to remain friends or become something more. I was also moved by Becca's relationship with her little sister, one of the driving forces of the book, and the futile nature of child protective services.

In all, A Pain Less Ordinary is an emotional, heartfelt read about a girl who perseveres despite the odds. Definitely worth your time.

Good Points

Unlike much of the YA contemporary readers find on shelves, A Pain Less Ordinary features a working-class main character, a group largely underrepresented in literature. Pires does a fabulous job bringing Becca's reality and the brutality of her struggles to life