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Out of the Ordinary
Fifteen-year-old Molly, who lives in a turbulent, single-parent household, is asked by mysterious, otherworldly visitors to protect an enchanted child from great danger
243 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
1 person is currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Annie Dalton
96 books97 followersAnnie grew up as an only child in the English countryside during the 1950s. Her father was not always around but when he was, he would tell her fantastical stories, often with her as the principal character. Annie missed him and his stories, which led her to the fantasy section at her local library, thus sparking life-long love of fiction.
After undertaking jobs such as waitressing, cleaning and factory work, Annie went on to study at University of Warwick and soon started writing.
Annie lives in Norfolk. She has three children, Anna, Reuben, and Maria (the inspiration for the first “Angels Unlimited” book, “Winging It”) and two grandchildren, Sophie and Isabella.
After undertaking jobs such as waitressing, cleaning and factory work, Annie went on to study at University of Warwick and soon started writing.
Annie lives in Norfolk. She has three children, Anna, Reuben, and Maria (the inspiration for the first “Angels Unlimited” book, “Winging It”) and two grandchildren, Sophie and Isabella.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 6, 2023
This book lived up to its title. Molly is fifteen and gifted with extra gravity, big feet, a sensible face, and frizzy red hair. She's average. Plain. Ordinary.
Her life isn't especially ordinary, though - she's the only daughter of a mother with exceptionally poor personal boundaries, and lives with her two awful brothers, a varying cast of foster children coming in and out, recuperating injured and stray animals, and any transient bleeding heart case who is automatically given Molly's bedroom (Molly often has to sleep on the sofa). Her mother, Maureen, who 'cannot say no to anyone' except Molly, isn't cruel to her per se but is abusive in her emotional neglect of Molly, who is totally psychologically enmeshed. At one point Molly panics because she knows she is incapable of lying to her mother:
The good news is that the main plot here is a fantastical one. 'Unbelonging' Molly, who both lacks an identity of her own and who sometimes sees things that no one else can (this she habitually shrugs off and keeps to herself, sensibly), realises that her awkwardness actually makes sense on a more cosmic level, when she on a whim writes a ridiculous 'employment sought' ad for the local Bradley (North Yorkshire) newspaper (which she delivers on her paper route). Like the one tossed into the fireplace at 17 Cherry Tree Lane that Mary Poppins later turns up with, Molly receives a visitation in response to her never-placed ad, which she comically mistakes for another of Maureen's lost souls begging for food/warmth/company/a shoulder to cry on, etc.
A little boy will be entrusted to the care of Molly... she is to love him, and keep him safe from his enemies...
Suddenly, Molly's already chaotic and tenuous life becomes anything by ordinary. She meets a handsome older busker/vagabond in Icarus (he had hippies for parents, if you're wondering about the name), and falls into complete maternal love with the mute and beautiful little boy, Floris, who arrives as foretold.
The writing style was occasionally hard to follow, but I enjoyed the uniqueness. The little details, especially the character of Maureen in the background, made this read like a special blend of realistic fiction and low fantasy middle grade. It reminded me a little of some of Nina Beachcroft's books (A Visit to Folly Castle, Beyond World's End) in that regard - interesting characters, interesting home life, bizarre and magical worlds colliding.
I feel I don't want to divulge too much of the 'other world' content, and that's mostly because there's only just enough of it there to keep the story held together anyway: there are unanswered questions in that other realm (readily acknowledged), and so the focus of the book really remains solely on Molly and her very much now extraordinary life.
A good one for all the ordinary teens out there who don't have delusions of grandeur, but do wonder about the role they play in the grand scheme of life, the universe, and everything.
(NB: read this as part of my one-person-October-spooky-readathon, and it wasn't very spooky at all. Eerie and fantastical, yes. But not Hallowe'eny. Also - I don't get the cover. And the other edition's is even worse).
Her life isn't especially ordinary, though - she's the only daughter of a mother with exceptionally poor personal boundaries, and lives with her two awful brothers, a varying cast of foster children coming in and out, recuperating injured and stray animals, and any transient bleeding heart case who is automatically given Molly's bedroom (Molly often has to sleep on the sofa). Her mother, Maureen, who 'cannot say no to anyone' except Molly, isn't cruel to her per se but is abusive in her emotional neglect of Molly, who is totally psychologically enmeshed. At one point Molly panics because she knows she is incapable of lying to her mother:
How could she explain to anyone else the way her mother often walked around in her head as though it was just another room in the Gurney's house, a room that could always be let out if the need arose.Another time, her mother has double booked herself, volunteering to help at a sale when she already promised to be babysitting a kid, and it's only a matter of form that she mentions it to Molly knowing Molly will bail her out. The resultant 'thank you' is utterly empty of gratitude. Just to be clear, this is NOT the main thrust of the story, and I'm not even sure if Dalton meant it to be as present as she did. It was just an uncomfortable and interesting side story, and perhaps a readily identifiable one to a child who served as a taken-for-granted, ersatz-partner in a single parent family. I personally found it regettably realistic.
The good news is that the main plot here is a fantastical one. 'Unbelonging' Molly, who both lacks an identity of her own and who sometimes sees things that no one else can (this she habitually shrugs off and keeps to herself, sensibly), realises that her awkwardness actually makes sense on a more cosmic level, when she on a whim writes a ridiculous 'employment sought' ad for the local Bradley (North Yorkshire) newspaper (which she delivers on her paper route). Like the one tossed into the fireplace at 17 Cherry Tree Lane that Mary Poppins later turns up with, Molly receives a visitation in response to her never-placed ad, which she comically mistakes for another of Maureen's lost souls begging for food/warmth/company/a shoulder to cry on, etc.
A little boy will be entrusted to the care of Molly... she is to love him, and keep him safe from his enemies...
Suddenly, Molly's already chaotic and tenuous life becomes anything by ordinary. She meets a handsome older busker/vagabond in Icarus (he had hippies for parents, if you're wondering about the name), and falls into complete maternal love with the mute and beautiful little boy, Floris, who arrives as foretold.
The writing style was occasionally hard to follow, but I enjoyed the uniqueness. The little details, especially the character of Maureen in the background, made this read like a special blend of realistic fiction and low fantasy middle grade. It reminded me a little of some of Nina Beachcroft's books (A Visit to Folly Castle, Beyond World's End) in that regard - interesting characters, interesting home life, bizarre and magical worlds colliding.
I feel I don't want to divulge too much of the 'other world' content, and that's mostly because there's only just enough of it there to keep the story held together anyway: there are unanswered questions in that other realm (readily acknowledged), and so the focus of the book really remains solely on Molly and her very much now extraordinary life.
A good one for all the ordinary teens out there who don't have delusions of grandeur, but do wonder about the role they play in the grand scheme of life, the universe, and everything.
(NB: read this as part of my one-person-October-spooky-readathon, and it wasn't very spooky at all. Eerie and fantastical, yes. But not Hallowe'eny. Also - I don't get the cover. And the other edition's is even worse).
May 3, 2024
One of my all-time favourite books. Read it when I was about 12, loved it, read and re-read it, then moved across the world and lost it. Could never remember the name, just the story, but there are so many books that tie in to Snow Queen-type legends that I could never find it. Then a wonderful book finder on Insta came to my rescue. Superb. Time to pass it to my daughter!
October 31, 2014
Molly Gurney is sick of her boring, ordinary life. Her mother treats her like an extension of herself, her brothers are barbarians, and she has no idea what she's going to do with the rest of her life. When she writes a job advertisement she has no idea it will open the door to magic in her life. Now Molly has to care for a mute little boy under a curse, which she enjoys, and keep him safe from the evil Magus, which is a lot harder.
Molly's life has never really been ordinary, although to her of course it is. Her mother adopts anything in need of a home: animals, foster children, strangers who need a place for the night. Molly may not have her mother's need to care for everything, but she is enough of her mother's daughter to instinctively protect the helpless. She's got a touch of magic that she feels as a singing in her bones, whose main use seems to be granting her touches of psychic power.
When Floris lands in their house, she falls in love with him immediately. He's such a sweet kid, even if he is a bit strange. And Floris leads her to Icarus, the son of ex-hippies who had more in common with Molly than she would have guessed. Icarus amused me. He's had such a strange life that he can take just about anything with a straight face, though Molly guessing his name really floored him.
The legendary subtext for this story is familiar enough: two young lovers from opposing families died when their families tried to drag them apart. Their death shattered the Heartstone that was the source of power and prosperity for the land. There are touches of various stories, such as the seven swan brothers, Tam Lin, and and ending reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time.
The magic was the book's biggest weakness. It never really got a structure or had clearly defined rules. Granted, Molly wouldn't have known a lot about it, but often the magic felt as though it would do whatever the author wanted it to do without much regard for why. And the use of the horoscope section in the paper to give the plot direction felt cheesy.
Overall, though, it was a fast read with an amusing heroine. I didn't buy it expecting to be blown out of my chair, so I wasn't disappointed. Recommended.
Molly's life has never really been ordinary, although to her of course it is. Her mother adopts anything in need of a home: animals, foster children, strangers who need a place for the night. Molly may not have her mother's need to care for everything, but she is enough of her mother's daughter to instinctively protect the helpless. She's got a touch of magic that she feels as a singing in her bones, whose main use seems to be granting her touches of psychic power.
When Floris lands in their house, she falls in love with him immediately. He's such a sweet kid, even if he is a bit strange. And Floris leads her to Icarus, the son of ex-hippies who had more in common with Molly than she would have guessed. Icarus amused me. He's had such a strange life that he can take just about anything with a straight face, though Molly guessing his name really floored him.
The legendary subtext for this story is familiar enough: two young lovers from opposing families died when their families tried to drag them apart. Their death shattered the Heartstone that was the source of power and prosperity for the land. There are touches of various stories, such as the seven swan brothers, Tam Lin, and and ending reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time.
The magic was the book's biggest weakness. It never really got a structure or had clearly defined rules. Granted, Molly wouldn't have known a lot about it, but often the magic felt as though it would do whatever the author wanted it to do without much regard for why. And the use of the horoscope section in the paper to give the plot direction felt cheesy.
Overall, though, it was a fast read with an amusing heroine. I didn't buy it expecting to be blown out of my chair, so I wasn't disappointed. Recommended.
March 10, 2014
Annie Dalton is one of a series of British writers who create original and thoughtful fantsay for YA readers. No Tolkein copyists amongst these writers. Dalton has been a Carnegie award winner and is still writing quality fiction.
Out of the Ordinary is a delightful story about Molly who dreams of a life out of the ordinary. Her home life is chaotic, and ordinary and dull, but there is magic everywhere if you seek it. Her joke job advert - Quests undertaken, enchantments broken - is answered in a stunning way and a magic world touches her life.
As in so many of these quality British fantsy novels there is always an underlying theme relevant to people today. Obsessions, hatred, the need to forgive are at the heart of the story and apply just as much to Molly's world as to the fantsay world.
A great read for any lover of well written, orignal fantasy and a good book for YA readers who want their fantasy a little nearer home and their own lives.
Out of the Ordinary is a delightful story about Molly who dreams of a life out of the ordinary. Her home life is chaotic, and ordinary and dull, but there is magic everywhere if you seek it. Her joke job advert - Quests undertaken, enchantments broken - is answered in a stunning way and a magic world touches her life.
As in so many of these quality British fantsy novels there is always an underlying theme relevant to people today. Obsessions, hatred, the need to forgive are at the heart of the story and apply just as much to Molly's world as to the fantsay world.
A great read for any lover of well written, orignal fantasy and a good book for YA readers who want their fantasy a little nearer home and their own lives.
January 18, 2015
I read this as a teenager and loved it so much I stole it from my school library. (Sorry Mrs. Bowden) I have held onto this book for the last 20years and I still enjoy getting it out for a re-read. The characters are loveable and relatable but it’s the wonderful descriptions of the mundane that make reading this book ‘like going home’. Annie Dolton writes magic into the everyday, the cracked linoleum, and the mysterious soft sugar like sand that lays in the kitchen larder. the reader 'feels' like they are in the Gurney Kitchen with Molly.
May 26, 2021
This book is forever entwined in my memory with the much-better-known A Wrinkle in Time: a teenage girl protagonist with unruly hair, a name that starts with M, an absent father, an unconventional mother, and an extraordinary younger brother figure, caught up in an otherworldly adventure along with a fellow misfit young man who becomes a key ally. Tbh, I always kind of liked this one better.
May 3, 2019
Absolutely marvelous. Annie Dalton's books are always feasts.
May 9, 2014
Molly is saddled with a moronic older brother, a games freak younger brother and an imagination that is belied by her too sensible face and red hair. When she writes a mock advert for 'Quests undertaken', she doesn't realise that she will soon be thrust into an age old feud as she is chosen to care for Floris.
Annie Dalton writes eloquently and with beauty. Out of the ordinary draws you into Molly's life, filled with her mother's fosterlings and into the magical world that she is drawn into. The prose moves along with an almost dreamlike quality and the characters make you laugh and cry with them. A must read for any fan of the slightly surreal.
Annie Dalton writes eloquently and with beauty. Out of the ordinary draws you into Molly's life, filled with her mother's fosterlings and into the magical world that she is drawn into. The prose moves along with an almost dreamlike quality and the characters make you laugh and cry with them. A must read for any fan of the slightly surreal.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews