Just Shy of Ordinary

Writers differ in their approaches to handling the COVID 19 pandemic in literature. Many have eschewed mention of the pandemic altogether, preferring to leave their work as an escapist haven for readers. Others have dove in headfirst, going so far as to say that anyone who doesn’t include pandemic references in their work is writing either historical, fantasy, or science fiction. In Just Shy of Ordinary, author A. J. Sass finds the balance in the middle and considers what this time might have meant for the development of kids. COVID is not the focus of the book, but in a way almost served as the inciting incident.

As the story opens, we meet Shai, a nonbinary homeschooler about to transition to public school. This switch, which Shai is hoping helps them get control of their anxiety, can be viewed as a direct result of COVID. During the pandemic Shai’s mother lost her job in the hotel industry. The resulting financial fall out lead to the family moving in with close friends and Shai and their best friend Mille learning via an online program instead of directly from Shai’s mom who had to scramble and learn a new employable skill set. It’s a lot of change to take in, and somewhere along the way Shai starts picking at the hair on their arms to help control the feelings of anxiety and stress. They are hoping that public school, and the associated strict routine, will help them get control of this before anyone else notices. 

In one of my favorite parts of the book, Shai has also recently come out as nonbinary and this is repeatedly shown to NOT be the cause of their anxiety or mental health issues. Actually, for Shai, owning their identity is a good and helpful thing. However, a new school means new friends and the possibility of coming out to all of them. We watch several characters come out in different ways to the different people in their lives, and the process is both normalized and also shown as never ending – each new person and experience is another choice to make re: how much information is shared and when. 

Public school also brings Shai the desire to explore their Jewish heritage as part of an English project. Shai’s mother has herself chosen to be less observant despite being heavily active in her reform temple before college, and Shai can’t help wonder if that decision is directly related to their birth. Especially when their mother presents an odd sort of resistance to Shai’s growing connection to Judaism. One of the things I have noticed in Sass’s work, is that parents are often shown as human rather than perfect. Especially as relates to religion. Shai’s mother gives what I perceived as flimsy excuses for Shai not being allowed to explore certain aspects of Judaism despite a Rabbi literally inviting them today to do so. It causes Shai not a small amount of frustration, alienation over “not being Jewish enough,” and worsens the picking. All of which is exceedingly realistic. As is the eventual spilling of secrets on both sides when Shai finally gets the help they need. 

With the worst of the pandemic over, but still ever present in hand sanitizer and choices to avoid huge public gatherings by Shai’s friends, the book can instead focus on the sequela of COVID on our youth’s mental health. For adults, we had decades of a different normal and are now adjusting to a new one. For kids, this mixed up reality is all they have ever known, and it was refreshing to see that explored. It is a choice to show the world as it is, very similar to the choice made to show characters as they are. It’s a nuanced approach, but at a level that can be understood by most MG readers. Because if you know kids, you know they can spot a lie a mile away. This book, to me, felt written from a deep place of truth and I suspect middle schoolers will appreciate that.

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