I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“But I’ve learned that time is not so forgiving, And the real beauty of life is in the fragile ordinary.”
The Fragile Ordinary is an utterly spectacular coming of age young adult romance novel written by the marvellous Samantha Young.
Self-proclaimed ‘average 16-year-old’ Comet Caldwell has never wanted to be the centre of anyone’s attention. With a barely existent relationship with her parents, and only two close friends, Comet is keeping her head down and her grades up so she can make her escape to college. Preferring the fictional worlds of books and her imagination, Comet is shocked to find herself with a crush on the new boy at school, American Tobias King.
Struggling to deal with his father’s death, Tobias wasn’t too keen for the move his mother insisted on from North Carolina to Edinburgh. Acting out and letting his grades fall, the last thing Tobias expects is to form a connection with the shy nerdy girl he was paired with for a class assignment, a girl whose poems make him not feel so alone.
But when bullies threaten Tobias and Comet’s relationship they have two choices, go their separate ways or weather the storm together and take a risk on something extraordinary.
I’ve been a fan of Samantha Young’s for a while now, so when I received an Advanced copy of this novel for review I was ecstatic, and I’m so, so glad it lived up to my colossal expectations.
Like many novels the initial character/world building, and the exposition that’s needed to ‘set the scene’ made the early chapters of the novel come across as a bit monotonous. Thankfully this impression did not last and before long it had launched into what has now become one of my favourite contemporary YA stories I’ve ever read.
I loved almost everything about this novel, from its portrayal of healthy and supportive relationships, to its realistic handling of bullying and harassment and the impact it can have on a person.
One of the themes that runs throughout this novel is Comet’s lack of supportive parents and the impact that has had on her. Comet states quite early in the novel that she and her parents did not have a good relationship and that her parents had, in fact, never wanted a child;
“…proceeded to treat me with offhand kindness, disinterest and sometimes outright negligence. I was an accident, and not a happy one.”
Comet is such and strong and inspiring character, who despite her painful shyness, her fear of being judged, and abandoned by those she cares about, tries every day to stay true to who she is and what she believes in.
“Don’t you get it, Tobias? This—” I gestured to what I was wearing “—it’s my way of fighting the girl who doesn’t want to share her poems with anyone. This is the part of me that could give a crap what anyone thinks of me. I’m proud of myself when I walk down the street wearing the clothes I want to wear, because it means I’m standing up for who I am. I wish… You have no idea how much I wish I could care less what anyone thinks about me at all, whether it’s my clothes or the words coming out of my mouth or the words I put on paper.”
Tobias and Comet’s relationship was so sweet and wholesome, and it was so refreshing to read a Young Adult novel that showed a healthy and supportive relationship where both people grow and change and I absolutely LOVED this aspect of the novel.
One of my favourite parts of the novel, however bitter sweet it soon became, was the friendship that developed between Comet and Tobias’ cousin and close friend Stevie. This was such a sweet and pure friendship and I adored seeing it unfold.
“My whole life I’d grown up in school with Stevie Macdonald and I’d never once thought to look beneath the surface… So I made the decision right there and then to give Stevie the chance Tobias wanted me to. For Tobias I would have done it anyway. But getting to know Stevie, seeing that beneath the bravado and cheekiness was a nice guy with a crappy home life, I did it for me and Stevie, too. Because maybe Tobias was right. Maybe if you took a chance on people, rather than writing them off before getting to know them, reality could be fun.”
The Fragile Ordinary is a story of love and loss. It’s a story about overcoming your fears, learning to be brave, and most importantly staying true to yourself.
The Fragile Ordinary was a tremendous pleasure to read and releases June 26th.
Purchase:
(Unavailable on Apple Book Australia at the time of this posting & Audio only through Kobo Australia.)
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