The Ordinary and Extraordinary Auden Greene

Gr 5-7–As they approach their 12th birthdays, longtime best friends Auden (“Denny”) and Runa are starting to pull apart. The hardest part for Denny comes as Runa withdraws and pulls away from the collaborative storytelling of Sorrowfeld, the world they have been building for years together in a shared notebook. Before Runa fully abandons the worldbuilding, however, she rewrites two crucial rules: Dragons are no longer monsters, but humans under evil enchantment who are destructive because they mourn for their former lives; and when a princess of Sorrowfeld turns 12, somehow, magically, she will become different. What the girls haven’t realized is that their story world exists, with its own Princess Auden; and Runa’s changes to the story throw the kingdom into chaos. A birthday disaster results in Denny and Auden switching lives and being thrown into the other’s problems. Auden sees what Denny could not; that Runa is no longer a good friend to Denny, and the pressure of trying to help her mother confront debilitating alcoholism is not a pressure that belongs on a child. In Sorrowfeld, Denny works on saving the kingdom. Haydu’s compelling tale of friendship, family trauma, and magic is an emotional and beautifully crafted story. The plot is utterly immersive, and readers come to understand that both girls must face their distinct dragons in their own ways. Both Audens are cued white.