Tag Archives: OCD

All the Things That Could Go Wrong

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All the Things That Could Go Wrong by Stewart Foster

Book of the Week: 14 January 2018

Cover design by Leo Nickolls

Alex is worried. Tomorrow’s school trip is to an aquarium. The glass might crack, the fish will die and everyone on the trip will drown. If he doesn’t go, he will feel guilty about not drowning with his classmates. Dan, who is also on the trip, only wants to know if the shark in the tank will bite people, tear them apart and spill blood everywhere like in Jaws.

Alex has OCD and finds it a challenge to get through the school day. He is also being bullied by Dan. Unlike many books that feature bullying, Stewart Foster’s shows what life is like for the bully, as well as those who are their victims and tells the story through the eyes of both boys. Neither of them likes the suggestion from their mums that they work on building a raft together in the holidays. Dan started it with his older brother who is no longer on the scene. It’s a project that is not destined to go smoothly.

If you enjoyed Stewart Foster’s previous book, The Bubble Boy, then you will like this. Year 8 who did the Warwickshire Book Award last year will remember his entertaining talk at the award event in Warwick.

Photo: L. Watts

 

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Turtles All the Way Down AND Everybody Hurts

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green and Everybody Hurts by Joanna Nadin and Anthony McGowan

Books of the Week: 10 December 2017

A two-for-one offer this week!

These would make great companion reads. Both are love stories featuring characters from different sides of the tracks. Aza, from Turtles All the Way Down, is from an ordinary family. Her father died when she was young but she and her mum are close. Davis, whose father is missing and who Aza and her friend Daisy try to help, inhabits a vast mansion complete with security guards. Sophia, in Everybody Hurts is from a privileged background and attends school in a wealthy part of Leeds, whereas Matt doesn’t own any clothes with designer labels, has a postman father and is slightly embarrassed by the thought of bringing anyone around to his house. Sophia has been diagnosed with a brain tumour and faces the possibility of it being untreatable and Aza has crippling OCD. Both couples relationships affect not only themselves but the family and friends who surround them.

Turtles probably has less immediate appeal than John Green’s most popular book, The Fault in our Stars, and it doesn’t tug on the heart strings in such an obvious way. The portrayal of Aza’s mental state is particularly affecting and the characters have the usual smart philosophical conversations that you find in his other books. If, on the other hand, you like romance to be a bit grittier and more identifiable  you might prefer Sophia and Matt’s romance which is set in Leeds. Although the level of swearing and sexual references make this more suitable for those of sixteen and older, it still has a tender heart and is wise in its depiction of friendships, particularly Matt’s relationship with the edgy and bullying Jango who has been a friend since childhood.

If you are interested in love stories written by two authors you could also try these:

The Goldfish Boy

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The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

Book of the Week: 14 May 2017

Matthew’s dad is a whizz at pub quizzes and has an answer for everything.

“Dad, who was on the throne during the Black Death?”

“Edward the third.”

“What is the capital of Latvia?”

“Riga.”

“What is the chemical symbol for copper?”

“Cu.”

“What is wrong with your eldest and only son?”

“He’s crazy.”

Matthew is far from crazy. He is clever, kind and observant but he does have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which means, amongst other things, that he likes staying safely in his bedroom and keeping everything clean. One of his favourite occupations is looking out of his window to see what his neighbours are up to. There’s Mr Charles, who is fond of gardening but who doesn’t seem quite so fond of his grandchildren; Old Nina, who ventures out of doors almost as infrequently as Matthew himself; Penny and Gordon who are never seen apart; Jake, who hangs around on his bike bullying people; not to mention the very annoying Melody Bird who seems intent on being Matthew’s best friend.

When Mr Charles’ grandson Teddy goes missing one day, Matthew thinks he knows who the culprit might be and where Teddy can be found. But is he going to be able to follow up the clues when he can’t bring himself to leave the house?

This engrossing mystery is a kind of ‘Rear Window’* for younger readers but has the added advantage of being a sympathetic exploration of what it might be like to live with OCD. It is a compelling who-done-it told with warmth and wit.

Lisa Thompson’s website is here.

*Rear Window is a 1954 film and one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best thrillers.

Am I Normal Yet?

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Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

Book of the Week: 13 March 2016

Am I Normal Yet?

Are we at the start of a trend for books to have the word ‘normal’ in the title or is it just a coincidence? Several weeks ago, the Book of the Week was The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson.

Lots of us make an offhand remark about being ‘a bit OCD’ when all we really mean is that we like things to be neat. This book shows us just what suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder really means and how crippling it can be. Evie is 16 and has just started at college. She wants a fresh start with new friends and maybe a boyfriend, but most of all she wants to be regarded as ‘normal’ and for no-one to realise she has OCD. Is keeping a secret the best way to make new friends? What if her illness starts to come back?

Although Evie’s OCD is central to the plot, her dilemmas will be familiar to anyone starting a new school or struggling to make new friends and her chatty style is immediately engaging. Evie is trying to hide her innermost struggles but is entertainingly honest about almost everything else in her life.

Recommended for older readers due to some frank content and some scenes that may prove upsetting for younger readers.

If you liked Trouble by Non Pratt, or Solitaire by Alice Oseman, this may be a good choice for your next read.

Holly Bourne can be found on Tumblr here.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

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The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Book of the Week: 6 September 2015

If you are not the central character in a dystopian story who has special powers and masses of courage, then you are probably like the ‘rest of us’, plodding along in your everyday life. Mikey, the central character of this book, is one of ‘the rest of us’.  He lives in small-town America with his parents and two sisters and  just wants to date the girl of his dreams, get on with his friends and graduate from high school. Sadly, his town is also inhabited by ‘indie kids’ who attract the kind of supernatural goings-on that we read about in fiction. Sometimes these events leak out into the real world and result in death and destruction. Strangely enough, the cataclysmic happenings are sometimes the least of Mikey’s worries, as ordinary life has given him an alcoholic dad, a career politician of a mother, a sister who was anorexic, and some confusing feelings about Henna, who he has been in love with for years, and Jared his best friend. Also, he suffers with bouts of obsessive-compulsive behaviour.

Mikey’s experiences are realistic, touching, often quite funny and form the major part of the book. The supernatural part of the story is confined to chapter headings and and some scattered incidents. If you enjoy the writing of John Green or liked ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ by Stephen Chbosky then this is a must-read.

Patrick Ness has a brand new website here.