Review: The Fragile Ordinary by Samantha Young

The Fragile Ordinary by Samantha Young

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Release Date: June 26, 2018

Format: eARC

Source: Harlequin Teen and Edelweiss

I am Comet Caldwell.

And I sort of, kind of, absolutely hate my name.

People expect extraordinary things from a girl named Comet. That she’ll be effortlessly cool and light up a room the way a comet blazes across the sky.

But from the shyness that makes her book-character friends more appealing than real people to the parents whose indifference hurts more than an open wound, Comet has never wanted to be the center of attention. She can’t wait to graduate from her high school in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the only place she ever feels truly herself is on her anonymous poetry blog. But surely that will change once she leaves to attend university somewhere far, far away.

When new student Tobias King blazes in from America and shakes up the school, Comet thinks she’s got the bad boy figured out. Until they’re thrown together for a class assignment and begin to form an unlikely connection. Everything shifts in Comet’s ordinary world. Tobias has a dark past and runs with a tough crowd—and none of them are happy about his interest in Comet. Targeted by bullies and thrown into the spotlight, Comet and Tobias can go their separate ways…or take a risk on something extraordinary. 

Being sixteen is never easy but Comet Caldwell has the additional woe of being saddled with two parents who seem prone to treating her as a polite boarder or acting surprised that she’s actually still around. Add in two fun-loving friends who cannot understand her bookishness or her contentment to stay at home and Comet is often left feeling invisible and misunderstood. Enter hot new guy from America. A shared class project with Tobias turns into more and Comet is smitten. But Tobias and his cousin run with a rough crowd and suddenly Comet is the target of unwanted attention. Being with Tobias means no longer being invisible and facing up to bullies. So is Comet willing to shake up her life and come out of her shell?

I had an odd relationship with The Fragile Ordinary and my feelings for Comet and the overall story ran the gamut.

The first several chapters: Oh my goodness, this was sixteen year old me. I relate to this girl so hard.

By the middle: I’m so over being in this girl’s head. I get it already, you’re not like your friends, you don’t like parties, blah blah blah.

And by the end: So that was it, huh? Okay.

The Fragile Ordinary suffered from an overabundance of telling instead of showing - something I’m willing to go with in small doses but there was little here for me to discover for myself. Comet shared her every thought and feeling (to the point of being repetitive), Comet told me all about her feelings for Tobias, Comet told me about every outfit she wore (and described everything her friends wore). Because of this, I was never able to invest in the Comet + Tobias relationship. While I was told (often) how Comet felt and how their relationship progressed, I was never able to see it or feel it for myself. Passages like this one are a prime example: “Tobias and I… well we were better than great. Closer than ever and yet both excelling separately.” While I generally liked both Comet and Tobias, I was never able to feel any connection or buy in to the romance.

Comet did experience some real character growth throughout the book – finding confidence in herself, calling out her parents for their atrocious lack of parenting, and generally finding her own voice – and I appreciated seeing the gradual changes in her. While The Fragile Ordinary didn’t bring anything new to the YA contemporary genre, it was still an enjoyable story that showcased friendship, acceptance of what we cannot change, and standing up for one's self.

3/5 STARS

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is no way changes my opinion of the book or the content of this review.