Miles from Ordinary - Carol Lynch Williams
Lacey is filled with excitement and anxiety. Today is the first day of her volunteer job at the public library and her mother's first day as a checker at Winn-Dixie. Lacey can't wait to have some time out of the house - some time for herself.Lacey has been the sole caretaker of her mother ever since her Aunt Linda was forced to leave a year ago. Lacey's mother's paranoia and depression has only gotten worse, leaving Lacey scared that her mother won't be able to manage her job outside the house, but with money quickly becoming an issue there isn't a choice.Her day at the library didn't turn out of be the escape she expected it to be. Worries for her mother clouded her mind while she worked and thoughts of Aunt Linda continually creeped in. (Aunt Linda used to work at the library.) After a tiring day, Lacey returns to Winn-Dixie to pick up her mother to go home only to find her worst fears confirmed. Her mother didn't make it a day and has disappeared.With the help of a new and surprising friend, Lacey begins to search for her mother. What she finds forces her to realize just how sick her mother has become.MILES FROM ORDINARY is a page-turner. There was only one part at the end that bothered me, but the author pulled me back in before she lost me all together. The last few pages were fantastic. If the entire book had been written with that same level of intensity, I could have ranked it with her first novel, but as it is, this book is no where close to being as powerful as THE CHOSEN ONE.