The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. The title “Just Shy of Ordinary” is at the top of the cover in large yellow caps. In the lower right hand corner, the author’s name “A. J. Sass” is written in smaller, dark blue caps. Smaller red text above it reads “Author of ‘Ellen Outside the Lines’”. The background is dark with a large rainbow swirling across it. Yellow stars, a cat, a menorah, a loaf of Challah bread, several books, an apple, an open pencil case with pens flying out of it, two candlesticks, and a jar of honey with a honey dipper next to it can be seen dotted around the cover. Pieces of ruled paper with writing on them are scattered across the bottom of the cover. In the centre, a young person. They have shoulder length blonde hair with a blue streak on the left, blue glasses, a blue t-shirt over a lighter blue long-sleeved shirt, and they are holding a blue notebook in their left hand and a black pen in their right. /end]

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Content Warning:

• Self-Harm
• TBD

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Summary:

A thirteen-year-old nonbinary kid discovers that life doesn’t always go according to plan, especially when they start public school for the first time, in this heartfelt middle grade novel about family, friendship, LGBTQIA+ identity, and Jewish heritage, perfect for fans of The List of Things That Will Not Change and Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.
 
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.

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Notes:

This book is set to be released January 30th 2024.

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Archivist Comments:

I don’t have too much information on this book because it is, at the moment of writing, unreleased. I’ve tagged it as “self-harm” in the content warnings because of the MCs tendency to pick at their arms.

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