Anything But Ordinary

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Author(s)

Lara Avery

Publisher

Hyperion

Genre(s)

Contemporary

Age Range

12+

Release Date

September 11, 2012

ISBN

9781423163862

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Bryce remembers it like it was yesterday. The scent of chlorine. The blinding crack and flash of pain. Blood in the water.

When she wakes up in the hospital, all Bryce can think of is her disastrous Olympic diving trial. But everything is different now. Bryce still feels seventeen, so how can her little sister be seventeen, too? Life went on without her while Bryce lay in a coma for five years. Her best friend and boyfriend have just graduated from college. Her parents barely speak. And everything she once dreamed of doing—winning a gold medal, traveling the world, falling in love—seems beyond her reach.

But Bryce has changed too, in seemingly impossible ways. She knows things she shouldn’t. Things that happened while she was asleep. Things that haven’t even happened yet. During one luminous summer, as she comes to understand that her dreams have changed forever, Bryce learns to see life for what it truly is: extraordinary.

Bryce remembers it like it was yesterday. The scent of chlorine. The blinding crack and flash of pain. Blood in the water.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Emotional Read

August 20, 2012

Overall rating

4.0

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This is a well written, interesting book about making every day count but it broke my heart. I found myself torn throughout most of it, because while I wanted to know, HAD TO KNOW how it all ended...I also wanted to stop reading because it hurt too much at times. *cries* For the record, I was so unhappy with how this book ended that when I went to sleep that night, I actually dreamed it ended differently. (Yes, I'm aware of my issues.)

I can not imagine being in Bryce's shoes, waking up to find that five years have passed and everything she's ever known, ever loved, has changed and moved on without her. *clutches chest* She experiences changes too, unexplainable ones that force her to see herself and life differently. She learns how precious life can be and decides to make every day count which is great but heartbreaking nonetheless.

Carter, the Resident she meets in the hospital is there to help her as she starts over. He's smart, cute and seems to understand this new version of Bryce in ways that no one else can. But her past won't leave her alone and what she thought was lost to her forever wants to be a part of her future. Bryce will have to choose between the possibility of life as she once dreamed of and a new future full of promises.

I really wanted to love this book, honestly, I did but just when things begin to look promising for Bryce, her world is turned upside down again with an ending that left me shocked and sobbing, SOBBING! *cries all the tears*

Jen Top 10 Reviewer 415 reviews

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I was immersed in Anything but Ordinary

August 16, 2012

Overall rating

4.5

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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.