I confess, I love stories that involve faeries as something other than frou-frou creatures and Extraordinary does just that. The story begins with a thirteen year old Phoebe Rothschild befriending Mallory Tolliver--a fae girl sent to influence Phoebe by the faerie queen--and there was a shoe reference that I could not help but grin about--because yes, I regret to admit that I had a shoe obsession. Anyways! From there, we time skip ahead four years at which point in time, Mallory reveals to Phoebe that her (Mallory's) 'brother' Ryland will be coming to live with them and then things really get interesting. As their previous attempt to control Phoebe failed, Ryland is brought in to twist her around his finger and convince her to do what they believe must be done to restore the faerie race to its former glory. Why Phoebe? Because Mayer Rothschild made a deal with the faerie queen several generations ago in which he would gain five extraordinary sons in exchange for one ordinary daughter of his line--to be picked at a later date. Unfortunately, the fae are running out of power and because of this, they're dying and well, running out of time. Thus, they really need to find the ordinary Rothschild girl immediately. 
 This was, a pretty speedy read--although yes, it's 390 pages of reading--and no, it's not a romance (at least I personally wouldn't mark it as such). This is the story of a girl who lives in such an extraordinary world that she feels quite ordinary and people tend to play upon that--which only makes her feel even less extraordinary. However, as the story progresses she learns--and mentions--that no one wants to admit to being ordinary and that love can often make one feel extraordinary. 
 With that said, I really did enjoy reading it and I rather liked the message--or what I took to be the message anyways.