Extraordinary

Book 70 of my 2016 Reading Challenge
read on August 29

Extraordinary by Miriam Spitzer Franklin

Summary (via the book jacket)
Last summer, Pansy chickened out on going to summer camp, even though she'd promised her best friend, Anna, she'd go. It was just like when they went to get their hair cut for Locks of Love; only one of them walked out with a new hairstyle, and it wasn't Pansy. But Pansy never got the chance to make it up to Anna. While at camp, Anna contracted meningitis and a dangerously high fever, and she hasn't been the same since. Now all Pansy wants is her best friend back - not the silent girl in the wheelchair who has to go to a special school and who can't do all the things Pansy used to chicken out of doing.
When Pansy discovers that Anna is getting a surgery that might cure her, she realizes this is her chance - she'll become the friend she always should have been. She'll become the best friend Anna's ever had - even if it means taking risks, trying new things (like those scary roller blades), and running herself ragged in the process.
Pansy's chasing extraordinary, hoping she reaches it in time for her friend's triumphant return. But what lies at the end of Pansy's journey might not be exactly what she had expected - or wanted.

My Opinion
This J Fic read had good insight into the strange way children's minds can process things, including feeling a lot of guilt for things they had no control over or not hearing what adults are trying to tell them and having unrealistic expectations.

I will pass this along to my kids and update this review if/when they read it.

A Few Quotes from the Book
"It was the first day of fifth grade, and I had a promise to keep."

"No matter how worried or nervous I was, Anna always believed in me. And I knew she still did...But now, it was my turn to be there for her."