Just Shy of Ordinary
Shai is starting public school for the very first time and they’re super anxious! Will their friends accept their new pronouns? Will anyone discover the secret hidden beneath their stylish arm sleeves? Will Edie come to the dance with them?
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Content Advisory
Jewish Content and Values
What the Book Is About
Content Advisory
There are passing references to the Covid pandemic, and Shai struggles with skin picking.
Jewish Content and Values
- Shai’s grandparents are practicing Reform Jews. After attending Rosh Hashanah services with them, Shai wants to learn more about their Jewish culture and identity.
- Shai researches their Jewish heritage for a school project, with a focus on the differing roles of LGBTQIA+ Jews in the different Jewish denominations.
- The family celebrates Shabbat and Sukkot together.
- When the synagogue is vandalized, Shai enlists their friends to help repair the damage.
What the Book Is About
Thirteen-year-old Shai Stern 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 for a new normal that includes going to public school, coming out to their friends as nonbinary and pansexual, and mastering their picking once and for all.
When Shai is assigned a big project for English, they decide to focus on their Jewish heritage and the Jewish community's relationship to queer individuals. Over the course of the fall, Shai struggles to manage their new responsibilities and friendships. Luckily, they find support in others who share their queer identity, including their English teacher, their friend Millie, and their crush Edie -- who ends up reciprocating Shai's feelings!
Each change brings more surprises. Eventually Shai learns that they can’t plan their way out of everything, but with the help of family and friends, they can make it through anything.
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 for a new normal that includes going to public school, coming out to their friends as nonbinary and pansexual, and mastering their picking once and for all.
When Shai is assigned a big project for English, they decide to focus on their Jewish heritage and the Jewish community's relationship to queer individuals. Over the course of the fall, Shai struggles to manage their new responsibilities and friendships. Luckily, they find support in others who share their queer identity, including their English teacher, their friend Millie, and their crush Edie -- who ends up reciprocating Shai's feelings!
Each change brings more surprises. Eventually Shai learns that they can’t plan their way out of everything, but with the help of family and friends, they can make it through anything.
Content Advisory
Content Advisory
There are passing references to the Covid pandemic, and Shai struggles with skin picking.
Jewish Content and Values
Jewish Content and Values
- Shai’s grandparents are practicing Reform Jews. After attending Rosh Hashanah services with them, Shai wants to learn more about their Jewish culture and identity.
- Shai researches their Jewish heritage for a school project, with a focus on the differing roles of LGBTQIA+ Jews in the different Jewish denominations.
- The family celebrates Shabbat and Sukkot together.
- When the synagogue is vandalized, Shai enlists their friends to help repair the damage.
What the Book Is About
What the Book Is About
Thirteen-year-old Shai Stern 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 for a new normal that includes going to public school, coming out to their friends as nonbinary and pansexual, and mastering their picking once and for all.
When Shai is assigned a big project for English, they decide to focus on their Jewish heritage and the Jewish community's relationship to queer individuals. Over the course of the fall, Shai struggles to manage their new responsibilities and friendships. Luckily, they find support in others who share their queer identity, including their English teacher, their friend Millie, and their crush Edie -- who ends up reciprocating Shai's feelings!
Each change brings more surprises. Eventually Shai learns that they can’t plan their way out of everything, but with the help of family and friends, they can make it through anything.
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 for a new normal that includes going to public school, coming out to their friends as nonbinary and pansexual, and mastering their picking once and for all.
When Shai is assigned a big project for English, they decide to focus on their Jewish heritage and the Jewish community's relationship to queer individuals. Over the course of the fall, Shai struggles to manage their new responsibilities and friendships. Luckily, they find support in others who share their queer identity, including their English teacher, their friend Millie, and their crush Edie -- who ends up reciprocating Shai's feelings!
Each change brings more surprises. Eventually Shai learns that they can’t plan their way out of everything, but with the help of family and friends, they can make it through anything.
