Kindle Edition Amazon Category:  Young Adult/Teen ISBN-10:  B008TT8Z6K Type: Fiction Pages: 224 Copyright: August 2012 ISBN-13: 9781491209028 Price: $2.99 (eBook) This book is a humorous look back into one ordinary girl's life during middle school, but it could be any girl. Set in the time while the ‘80s were fading into the ‘90s and the poofiness of hair and shoulder pads was soon to deflate, this coming of age story retells the experiences of Drew Hotchner, an “extraordinarily ordinary” girl, through her possibly wiser and more honest adult self. Drew struggles not only with the unavoidable awkwardness of being in middle school, but also with having to start over again her entire social world after experiencing the culture shock of moving across the country from California to Virginia. Through Drew’s humorous adventures in trespassing, accidental theft, school dances, and throwing punches at her best friend, she must finally learn who she really is. And if you can admit you are also extraordinarily ordinary, just as Drew claims to be, that we all just want to know who we really are, and that sometimes we surprise ourselves along the way, this might be the book for you. Excerpt Prologue (or Disclaimer) If you don’t expect too much, you won’t be disappointed. This isn’t a “self-help” book to boost your friend and/or money making abilities. I’m not a famous star revealing shocking secrets about other celebrities. In fact, I don’t think I have ever known anybody famous. I wish I could say that you should read this book because it will turn your world upside down, but it probably won’t. All I can tell you honestly is that I hope to entertain you. Wait! Don’t put the book down yet. Admittedly, I am just an ordinary girl, with an extraordinarily ordinary life. I could be the girl next door. It’s just that I decided to put it all on paper. The people I have known are what have made my life interesting. These and the everyday, or not so everyday experiences I have had all make me what I am today. And if these characters and experiences entertain or induce nostalgic feelings for others, then I am glad to play the bard… I mean part. My name is Drew Hotchner. Allow me to date myself here. I was born in the year of the original Star Wars, on the very date of its release. This is not the one where little Anakin races pods, but where he was already Darth Vader, building death stars and wreaking havoc on a galaxy far, far away. What? You don’t keep time and history by Star Wars? Okay. I will try to refrain from further allusions to one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, though you would notice that they surround you in your everyday life already, if you just took the time to watch the entire saga, with its amalgam of wonderful characters (sans Jar Jar Binks, and Ewoks for some). For those of you who may be too young to understand my prior telling of my age, all you need to know is that I had one adolescent foot in the ‘80s (big hair, big make-up, big portable stereos, then called “boom boxes”), and then jumped into full adolescence during the big ‘90s grunge invasion. Some of you may be thinking, “Whoa! This woman is like really old!” If you still don’t know what any of this means, Google it. I’ve always heard that it’s best to write about what you know or what you have done, so I figured I could write about what I know I have done. I have changed names and combined characters in order to protect the identities of my cohorts by jamming them into as few people as possible. For these events to have happened to only this limited number of characters would seem, at times, impossible, though I vow that I was at least in some way involved (except for the really bad stuff, Mom).     In the Beginning… Some people say you can never go back. I can’t imagine why anybody would want to anyway. Still, there are ties in our lives that will bind us forever to our pasts, and I just knew I could never completely sever mine. I was twelve when I moved to that dreadful little town. Out of all the places we could have moved to, my parents chose an obscure town tucked in the foothills of Virginia. It wasn’t really a bad town. It just wasn’t me. I had dreamt of a city to live in, or at least a suburb where I could peddle my bike up and down the road and go for walks around the neighborhood with my friends, up and down the sidewalk. What did I get? A house five miles outside of a town that seemed no bigger to me than a small village as seen only on TV… you know, the weird freaky towns on the Syfy network. I was born and raised in California, only to experience the biggest culture shock of my entire existence. We got rid of my bike. There would be no smooth surfaces for riding where we moved. And forget sidewalks. When the roads aren’t even paved, what’s the use of a sidewalk? Nothing but gravel and steep hills from that point on. How was I going to cope? Hold on. Let me back up. You need to understand how this came to be. Therefore, I believe I’ll start prior to the beginning of my sudden new life. Still following?

Awesome Story
This fun read is about a young girl going into the foreboding junior high years whose family moves from west coast California to east coast Virginia as if junior high isn't difficult enough. Drew escapes the ridicule of her California peers also leaving behind the love of her life only to have it replaced by a new villain and hunky junior high boy. The author delves into those awkward years as culture shocked Drew adjusts to her new surroundings and that ever present junior high need to fit in socially. She vies for the attention of the popular while falling into the hands of the ordinary and has a great epiphany to what and who "real friends" are.

Terri Klaes Harper uses great illustration through character and dialogue to draw in the reader and keep the pages of the book turning. I started this read before work and couldn't wait until after work to finish it and did that I did in one day. The book is truly that good! It is a must read for young adults finding themselves trapped in Drew's reality to adults who remember those tragic drama filled years. I am currently and not so patiently awaiting the sequel.

I especially made a connection with this book as I have taught junior high for several years now and found this novella to put a humorous but true spin on the realities of junior high. I envisioned my students playing various characters which actually gave me laughter pains by the time I finished.

No Ordinary Book!
Laughed the whole way through, and often at myself. One of the best reads I've picked up in ages, can't wait to read again!

Loved it!
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great capture of those middle school years. Just the right balance of laughter and angst while you follow Drew coming into her own identity. I would recommend for adults to preteens!! Can't wait for a sequel.