#MMGM: Just Shy of Ordinary, by A. J. Sass

My June Pride reviews have spilled over into July! Here's another good MG book I read, about a lot more than just being non-binary, but that's part of the character. I think I like it best when the LGBTQ+ issues are balanced with other issues any kid might relate to.

P.S. I'm out hiking, but I will return visits and comments! 

 

Title: Just Shy of Ordinary

Author: A. J. Sass. Read by P. J. Morgan

Publication info: Little, Brown Young Readers, 2024. 7 hours. (Original hardback by Little, Brown, 2024, 384 pages).

Source: Library

Publisher's Blurb (via Goodreads):

Thirteen-year-old Shai is an expert problem-solver. There’s never been something they couldn’t research and figure out on their own. But there’s one thing Shai hasn’t been able to logic their way through: picking at the hair on their arms.    
 
Ever since their mom lost her job, the two had to move in with family friends, and the world went into pandemic lockdown, Shai’s been unable to control their picking. Now, as the difficult times recede and everyone begins to discover their “new normal,” Shai’s hoping the stress that caused their picking will end, too.
 
After reading that a routine can reduce anxiety, Shai makes a plan to create a brand new normal for themself that includes going to public school. But when their academic evaluation places them into 9th grade instead of 8th, it sets off a chain of events that veer off the path Shai had prepared for, encouraging Shai to learn how to accept life's twists and turns, especially when you can't plan for them.

My Review:
I liked that this book was about much more than Shai's non-binary gender. In fact, despite some issues about when to come out to whom, that's kind of the least of their problems. As far as I can make out, the story is set in maybe 2021 or 22, as the country is coming out of the Covid pandemic, which cost Shai's mom her job.

Shai suffers a lot of anxiety about the changes in their life, as they've moved in with friends and their mom has taken daytime work, meaning she's no longer home-schooling Shai and their best friend. On-line school just isn't the same, contributing to Shai's decision to switch to public school, though their main motivation is the need to create a routine and a "new normal." 

Oddly, the author has set up that Shai tests into 9th grade, instead of 8th as they expected, but the high school is too full so the 9th grade is housed at the middle school. I found that a bit odd, but maybe it works to keep the story more firmly middle grade, as well as avoiding issues that can come of being the Frosh in a 4-year high school. Being pushed up a grade creates new anxieties as they are now very young for their grade--and being identified as "gifted" puts new pressures on Shai to perform.

I loved that the girls who are assigned to introduce Shai to the school and be their guides on the first day are totally nice and willing to embrace Shai as one of them right off the bat. Maybe it's not as realistic, but it's a nice change from the common trope of the new kid being ignored or bullied. And one of those new friends was also jumped a grade a few years back, so two of them are 13-year-old 9th graders, which helps.

The other side of the story is Shai's quest to understand their own family history, and the Jewish heritage that their mother has chosen to ignore, but their grandparents embrace. That takes the story into some interesting areas of intolerance, anti-Semitism, and also an illustration of how people and communities may change.

Shai makes some missteps along the way, particularly in relation to their life-long best friend, Mille (left behind when Shai heads off to HS and he stays put doing on-line school), but in the end things are good--and Shai learns that they don't have to do everything themself. Shai's "gifted" label has been a burden to them, and it's good to see them put it into better perspective.

My Recommendation:
There's a romance element in the story, and issues of how to come out and how being non-binary impacts that romance, but I like that the story felt very balanced with other issues. The book stays firmly in MG territory, for the 10-14 crowd.

 

FTC Disclosure: I checked Just Shy of Ordinary out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  



Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.


Don't miss a post--Follow me!