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sidneyellwood's review
5.0
i thought this book did a very good portrayal of what it might be like to live with ocd. i don't have ocd, but i do have anxiety and i had a period where it was drifting off into ocd-like symptoms, and i related strongly to bea. both of the characters were very likable, and the romance wasn't nauseating like it is in most young adult novels.
cas_sand's review against another edition
2.0
This book deserves more than 2 stars. I can tell that it's a good book, it's just that it was full of so much anxiety it got me feel really panicky and awful the whole time I was reading it. And it wasn't just when I was reading it. I'd have this horrible feeling for hours after I read it and it just ruined the experience for me. I think if it didn't freak me out I would've given it 3 or 4 stars.
sleepygirlreads_'s review against another edition
3.0
This book was alright. I liked how it was about OCD, a problem not commonly discussed in the YA genre, which made this stand out. It was nice to see that OCD is a lot of different things, not just somebody being super clean, or someone hoarding everything. The plot was a bit slow at times, like any coming of age story, I just thought it would be a bit more intense seeing as how it is about OCD, which is an intense disorder. I found the plot was repeated a lot; the main character always did the same thing, but i guess thats what you would expect from someone with OCD. I also feel like the story ended by suddenly. Like always, I would have loved on epilogue to see how they are after they control it all.
This book was very different, but you should still give it a try.
This book was very different, but you should still give it a try.
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
This is a tough but realistic look at OCD.
I love that this book is real - it's raw and powerful and not easy to read. But I'm glad there is a book that lets someone like me, who doesn't know this disorder well, get more information and understanding.
I love that this book is real - it's raw and powerful and not easy to read. But I'm glad there is a book that lets someone like me, who doesn't know this disorder well, get more information and understanding.
maggiemaggio's review
4.0
I’m going to pull a Bea-like move here and be totally honest: I’m not quite sure I should be reviewing this book. I liked it, I liked it a lot, but I also don’t have a whole lot of positive thoughts about it. I’m going to try though.
First, and I know lots of people look at a review about just being about what an author does, but I think a review should be about the whole package, I had a big problem with the package of this one. The has a paper over board case, something I love. I can’t stand dust jackets, but I also hate paperbacks so a paper over board case is pretty much my dream. Yet this one is ruined by a belly band! Is there anything more annoying than what is essentially a quarter of a dust jacket that flimsily slides around? If I owned the book I would just take it off and probably throw it away, but I read a library copy and the belly band was awkwardly taped/glued on.
However, I realize that most people don’t associate belly bands with hours of arguing with editors and production people and dealing with annoyed customers so let’s move on to the story. I liked this story a lot and I really like Corey Ann Haydu’s writing and voice. I immediately connected with Bea, the main character. The story opens with Bea meeting Beck at a school dance when the power goes out and Beck has a panic attack. Bea, who suffers from an anxiety disorder and is eventually diagnosed with OCD, is no stranger to panic attacks. That first scene between Bea and Beck left me excited for the book, I was impressed by Bea’s behavior and I immediately wanted to know more about her.
A traumatic event several years before, which isn’t revealed into well into the book, left Bea really anxious. Combine that with a bad break up (again, details hinted out, but not revealed until later) and Bea has landed herself in therapy with Dr. Pat. As a therapist Dr. Pat drove me up the wall, I hated the methods she used on Bea, but we were also hearing about them through Bea’s eyes and since Bea is the main character, a main character I really liked, it makes sense that I resented what Dr. Pat was doing. At Dr. Pat’s office Bea crosses paths with a couple, Austin and Sylvia, who intrigue Bea. She actually starts showing up to her appointments an hour early so she can eavesdrop on Austin and Sylvia’s sessions. I was a little miffed that Austin and Sylvia drove so far for therapy and that an adult couple would be seeing a psychiatrist at all (since Dr. Pat prescribes Bea Zoloft I assume she’s a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist), let alone one that also sees teenagers.
Bea develops an unhealthy obsession with Austin and Sylvia and her obsessive need to see them and know what they’re doing makes up Bea’s biggest problem in the book. Bea is also dealing with her regular anxiety, like not being able to drive over 30mph and compulsions like pinching her thigh when she gets really anxious. Dr. Pat has Bea try group therapy and that’s where she runs into Beck again. I didn’t expect Beck to also suffer from such debilitating OCD, but he did, and I enjoyed hearing about his issues and seeing how Bea handled them. That actually ties into what my favorite part of this book was. I found Bea’s anxiety, obsessions, and compulsions fascinating and I thought Corey Ann Haydu did an excellent job at handling them. At times they were cringe-worthy, at times they had my laughing out loud, and at times they were heart-breaking, but I enjoyed reading about them no matter what. However, I loved the moments where Bea had to be “normal” even more. Watching Bea step outside of herself, something that wasn’t easy for her, to force herself to comfort Beck or be there for her best friend, was really interesting and, to me, those moments made up the best parts of the story.
The one thing I really wished about this book, besides getting rid of the belly band, was to know more about Bea’s parents. We know her mother doesn’t deal with teenagers or Bea’s anxiety well and that her mom is a guard in a juvenile detention center (which seemed so random) and her dad is an architect, but otherwise they’re pretty absent. Bea literally spends hours of her day driving around the Boston area; where are her parents for this? Who’s paying for her gas? And where are her parents when Bea and her best friend spend school nights drinking bottles of wine at Bea’s house? During one of those nights Bea says they’re out on a date night, but they have to come home eventually. Over and over while I was reading I found myself wishing that Bea’s parents had been more developed.
Bottom Line: I had my issues with OCD Love Story, but in the end the were all eclipsed by how much I liked Bea and how much I liked Corey Ann Haydu’s writing and storytelling. It’s not always an easy story to read, what Bea goes through is really tough, but it’s also sweet and poignant and I’m happy I finally picked it up.
This review first appeared on my blog.
First, and I know lots of people look at a review about just being about what an author does, but I think a review should be about the whole package, I had a big problem with the package of this one. The has a paper over board case, something I love. I can’t stand dust jackets, but I also hate paperbacks so a paper over board case is pretty much my dream. Yet this one is ruined by a belly band! Is there anything more annoying than what is essentially a quarter of a dust jacket that flimsily slides around? If I owned the book I would just take it off and probably throw it away, but I read a library copy and the belly band was awkwardly taped/glued on.
However, I realize that most people don’t associate belly bands with hours of arguing with editors and production people and dealing with annoyed customers so let’s move on to the story. I liked this story a lot and I really like Corey Ann Haydu’s writing and voice. I immediately connected with Bea, the main character. The story opens with Bea meeting Beck at a school dance when the power goes out and Beck has a panic attack. Bea, who suffers from an anxiety disorder and is eventually diagnosed with OCD, is no stranger to panic attacks. That first scene between Bea and Beck left me excited for the book, I was impressed by Bea’s behavior and I immediately wanted to know more about her.
A traumatic event several years before, which isn’t revealed into well into the book, left Bea really anxious. Combine that with a bad break up (again, details hinted out, but not revealed until later) and Bea has landed herself in therapy with Dr. Pat. As a therapist Dr. Pat drove me up the wall, I hated the methods she used on Bea, but we were also hearing about them through Bea’s eyes and since Bea is the main character, a main character I really liked, it makes sense that I resented what Dr. Pat was doing. At Dr. Pat’s office Bea crosses paths with a couple, Austin and Sylvia, who intrigue Bea. She actually starts showing up to her appointments an hour early so she can eavesdrop on Austin and Sylvia’s sessions. I was a little miffed that Austin and Sylvia drove so far for therapy and that an adult couple would be seeing a psychiatrist at all (since Dr. Pat prescribes Bea Zoloft I assume she’s a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist), let alone one that also sees teenagers.
Bea develops an unhealthy obsession with Austin and Sylvia and her obsessive need to see them and know what they’re doing makes up Bea’s biggest problem in the book. Bea is also dealing with her regular anxiety, like not being able to drive over 30mph and compulsions like pinching her thigh when she gets really anxious. Dr. Pat has Bea try group therapy and that’s where she runs into Beck again. I didn’t expect Beck to also suffer from such debilitating OCD, but he did, and I enjoyed hearing about his issues and seeing how Bea handled them. That actually ties into what my favorite part of this book was. I found Bea’s anxiety, obsessions, and compulsions fascinating and I thought Corey Ann Haydu did an excellent job at handling them. At times they were cringe-worthy, at times they had my laughing out loud, and at times they were heart-breaking, but I enjoyed reading about them no matter what. However, I loved the moments where Bea had to be “normal” even more. Watching Bea step outside of herself, something that wasn’t easy for her, to force herself to comfort Beck or be there for her best friend, was really interesting and, to me, those moments made up the best parts of the story.
The one thing I really wished about this book, besides getting rid of the belly band, was to know more about Bea’s parents. We know her mother doesn’t deal with teenagers or Bea’s anxiety well and that her mom is a guard in a juvenile detention center (which seemed so random) and her dad is an architect, but otherwise they’re pretty absent. Bea literally spends hours of her day driving around the Boston area; where are her parents for this? Who’s paying for her gas? And where are her parents when Bea and her best friend spend school nights drinking bottles of wine at Bea’s house? During one of those nights Bea says they’re out on a date night, but they have to come home eventually. Over and over while I was reading I found myself wishing that Bea’s parents had been more developed.
Bottom Line: I had my issues with OCD Love Story, but in the end the were all eclipsed by how much I liked Bea and how much I liked Corey Ann Haydu’s writing and storytelling. It’s not always an easy story to read, what Bea goes through is really tough, but it’s also sweet and poignant and I’m happy I finally picked it up.
This review first appeared on my blog.
black0star's review
I thought I'd get into it, but I can't. I skimmed through it and it's just...weird and creepy. I have personal experience with OCD, but this is really extreme. Oh well.
graceburts's review
3.0
Good mental health books are very hard to come by, in my experience, they’re practically non-existent. OCD Love Story was 100% not perfect but it was good and with the lack of mental health books that aren’t complete trash out there, I’m satisfied with it being just good.
This book like every other book has its problem’s but I think it accomplished what it set out to do. OCD Love Story reads in a way that can only be described as uncomfortable, in the best way. While reading it, it is almost as if Bea’s anxiety slips off the page right unto you, unpleasant, leaving no room for romanization.
It is a slippery slope when it comes to mental health in the media, it is so easy to cross the line from respect to romanization, and this book maintains the perfect distance away from that dreaded line while still including a romantic storyline. The unavoidable ugliness that comes along with mental illness is not avoided or glossed over but also not glorified. In this book, Bea's compulsive tendencies are identified as what they are, unpleasant side effects of a sickness. It isn’t seen as something to long for but it isn’t a revolting trait Bea or her love interest have either. They both have their tendencies but that doesn’t make them unlovable. Their relationship is flawed and neither of them claims or try to fix the other, in fact, Bea as a character is extremely flawed, outside of her mental illness which is something else that is rare.
Bea is selfish and arrogant, reading in her point of view is unpleasant at best and offensive at worst, she is not a nice person. While reading quite a few of the passages in the novel I couldn’t help but feel unsettled. I became uncomfortable (in a bad way), but I can’t get mad at the book, Bea is supposed to be this way. She has terrible thoughts, like everyone else. Bea isn’t likeable, she is however well written. An example of this is when we first meet the other teens in her therapy group. She has the oh so familiar mentality, that she is above the “crazy” people she is in therapy with, she thinks of them as gross because unlike her their mental illness is more visible and while Bea’s internal monologue is realistically offensive that doesn’t take away from the fact that it is offensive. I can only imagine how someone looking for rep in this book would feel to have their own tendencies shit on by the main character. – This is just one example of Bea being terrible (believe me there are others) and I can understand why someone would rule out this book altogether because of it but I don’t think Corey Ann Haydu is trying to say this mentality is okay, she isn’t excusing it, Bea is in fact proven wrong, as her mental state diminishes and she realizes that she is not better than any of the people she deems lesser.
At the end of the book, Bea isn’t cured, but she is on the road to recovery, which I appreciate. Mental illness is such a long-standing bullshit ride that it can’t possibly be cured in one novel, not even if said novel was 30,000 pages. Too many YA books like this end in unrealistic happy rainbows or suicide, while I’ll take the rainbows over the suicide neither is all that hopeful. Seeing someone recover without any actual recovery involved is aggravating and nonsensical in the best of situations, so the positive realism is greatly appreciated.
OCD Love story is an uncomfortable and unpleasant book, full of unlikeable characters and offensive internal monologues and somehow I don’t hate it.
*I do not have OCD so I can’t speak for the rep in this book. *
**I do however have anxiety and write this review from the point of view of someone who has struggled with mental illness for a long ass time. When I read a book like this I hope to find reassurance, not a carbon copy of my experience’s. **
This book like every other book has its problem’s but I think it accomplished what it set out to do. OCD Love Story reads in a way that can only be described as uncomfortable, in the best way. While reading it, it is almost as if Bea’s anxiety slips off the page right unto you, unpleasant, leaving no room for romanization.
It is a slippery slope when it comes to mental health in the media, it is so easy to cross the line from respect to romanization, and this book maintains the perfect distance away from that dreaded line while still including a romantic storyline. The unavoidable ugliness that comes along with mental illness is not avoided or glossed over but also not glorified. In this book, Bea's compulsive tendencies are identified as what they are, unpleasant side effects of a sickness. It isn’t seen as something to long for but it isn’t a revolting trait Bea or her love interest have either. They both have their tendencies but that doesn’t make them unlovable. Their relationship is flawed and neither of them claims or try to fix the other, in fact, Bea as a character is extremely flawed, outside of her mental illness which is something else that is rare.
Bea is selfish and arrogant, reading in her point of view is unpleasant at best and offensive at worst, she is not a nice person. While reading quite a few of the passages in the novel I couldn’t help but feel unsettled. I became uncomfortable (in a bad way), but I can’t get mad at the book, Bea is supposed to be this way. She has terrible thoughts, like everyone else. Bea isn’t likeable, she is however well written. An example of this is when we first meet the other teens in her therapy group. She has the oh so familiar mentality, that she is above the “crazy” people she is in therapy with, she thinks of them as gross because unlike her their mental illness is more visible and while Bea’s internal monologue is realistically offensive that doesn’t take away from the fact that it is offensive. I can only imagine how someone looking for rep in this book would feel to have their own tendencies shit on by the main character. – This is just one example of Bea being terrible (believe me there are others) and I can understand why someone would rule out this book altogether because of it but I don’t think Corey Ann Haydu is trying to say this mentality is okay, she isn’t excusing it, Bea is in fact proven wrong, as her mental state diminishes and she realizes that she is not better than any of the people she deems lesser.
At the end of the book, Bea isn’t cured, but she is on the road to recovery, which I appreciate. Mental illness is such a long-standing bullshit ride that it can’t possibly be cured in one novel, not even if said novel was 30,000 pages. Too many YA books like this end in unrealistic happy rainbows or suicide, while I’ll take the rainbows over the suicide neither is all that hopeful. Seeing someone recover without any actual recovery involved is aggravating and nonsensical in the best of situations, so the positive realism is greatly appreciated.
OCD Love story is an uncomfortable and unpleasant book, full of unlikeable characters and offensive internal monologues and somehow I don’t hate it.
*I do not have OCD so I can’t speak for the rep in this book. *
**I do however have anxiety and write this review from the point of view of someone who has struggled with mental illness for a long ass time. When I read a book like this I hope to find reassurance, not a carbon copy of my experience’s. **
justcrystalxo's review
3.0
this book was a little lackluster to me. i liked bea and beck's story but i guess i wanted more.
jombienerd's review
5.0
4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book. It taught me a lot about OCD and what it’s actually like for a person going through this. I loved our flawed characters. This book was really eye opening. I didn’t think I would like it so much. I didn’t expect a lot going into it but it was a great read.
I was slightly confused in the beginning because I thought Bea was going to stalk Beck in this book because of the words written on the front cover. But it wasn’t a boy she stalked, it was a full grown MAN. That misunderstanding threw me off in the beginning but I quickly caught up to the events happening in the story and left my perceptions behind.
This is a great book.
I really enjoyed this book. It taught me a lot about OCD and what it’s actually like for a person going through this. I loved our flawed characters. This book was really eye opening. I didn’t think I would like it so much. I didn’t expect a lot going into it but it was a great read.
I was slightly confused in the beginning because I thought Bea was going to stalk Beck in this book because of the words written on the front cover. But it wasn’t a boy she stalked, it was a full grown MAN. That misunderstanding threw me off in the beginning but I quickly caught up to the events happening in the story and left my perceptions behind.
This is a great book.
mkayverse's review
2.0
to be honest, i was pretty disappointed in this book after i first got into the first six chapters of the book. it \really freaked me out. as it moved on, it got slightly better. it showed me the scaryness of OCD. and to be honest.. i did understand Bea and Beck and all the kids in the therapy group. however this is probably a book i will not be picking up again anything soon, even though i was engrossed in it for a few days.