Helpful Score: 1
I wanted TEN MILES PAST NORMAL to be a delightfully quirky contemporary read along the lines of Catherine Gilbert Murdocks D.J. Schwenk series. Sadly, it fell short of my expectations, but then again, I know that my expectations had been set pretty high, for there are still some elements of the book that charmed me.
Janie is a protagonist youll like to like. Shes definitely unusual in her breadth of interests and thoughts, teetering right at that age where weve all struggled with fitting in versus letting our natural differences shine. At the same time, her character didnt feel nearly complete enough to me. It was like she said she felt different and wanted to fit in, but in reading about her it seemed like she was more ordinary than the book wants to lead us to believe. I wanted MORE QUIRKINESS! MORE COOL-CRAZY MOMENTS! I didnt get as much as Id liked. Janie never entirely struck me as a truly unique girl enmeshed in the struggles of farm life and high school.
The elements of a winningly quirky contemporary read were there, but it didnt come together for me. A less picky reader, however, might find the many details that I felt didnt piece together well enough, to be great just as they are.
Janie is a protagonist youll like to like. Shes definitely unusual in her breadth of interests and thoughts, teetering right at that age where weve all struggled with fitting in versus letting our natural differences shine. At the same time, her character didnt feel nearly complete enough to me. It was like she said she felt different and wanted to fit in, but in reading about her it seemed like she was more ordinary than the book wants to lead us to believe. I wanted MORE QUIRKINESS! MORE COOL-CRAZY MOMENTS! I didnt get as much as Id liked. Janie never entirely struck me as a truly unique girl enmeshed in the struggles of farm life and high school.
The elements of a winningly quirky contemporary read were there, but it didnt come together for me. A less picky reader, however, might find the many details that I felt didnt piece together well enough, to be great just as they are.
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