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the_true_monroe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh my gosh, I had no idea what to expect from this. Honestly, I avoided it for a bit since when I put books on my to read list that I know focus on something very personal to me that is often misunderstood, I fear they will be cliche and cheesy. Even like in this case, when the author writes from lived experience I still kind of expect it- as a defense mechanism I guess.
But the book provided amazing depictions of OCD and other mental illnesses, and it did not sugar-code anything. This would be impressive for any book, let alone a middle-grade novel.
I listened to the audiobook in one day and it had me feeling so many emotions. It was funny, mysterious, adventurous, heartwarming, fun, informative, but also was dark and sad.
I was amazed how the book had so much going on beyond Daniel’s OCD- including a full on, epic, criminal investigation?!
I have experienced OCD for as long as I could remember and I got chills realizing that there is a book with a kid as a main character whose variety of symptoms were so much like mine as a child/ early teenager.
Added it straight to my favorites list.
But the book provided amazing depictions of OCD and other mental illnesses, and it did not sugar-code anything. This would be impressive for any book, let alone a middle-grade novel.
I listened to the audiobook in one day and it had me feeling so many emotions. It was funny, mysterious, adventurous, heartwarming, fun, informative, but also was dark and sad.
I was amazed how the book had so much going on beyond Daniel’s OCD- including a full on, epic, criminal investigation?!
I have experienced OCD for as long as I could remember and I got chills realizing that there is a book with a kid as a main character whose variety of symptoms were so much like mine as a child/ early teenager.
Added it straight to my favorites list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Alcoholism, Addiction, Bullying, Ableism, and Gaslighting
Minor: Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Murder, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
tays_books's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Suicide, Ableism, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment and Drug abuse
lleer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book, is really interesting. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
If you are hesitant to whether read it or not, then read it, pick it up, even if you are someone who prefers more complicated prose!
It was a quick read, I really really enjoyed it. The plot was consistent, fast/medium paste, there weren't any moments when I felt bored. It was really fun to read, with a little mystery in between the pages.
The prose was good, not bad and at the same time easy to understand, even for someone with a not very good English level.
Why didn't I rate it 5 stars? Altho everything about the story was amazing and consistent, there are a few things the author could have added or disregarded that would have made this books tons better and more impactful. I'm stating these things here (This review has major spoilers):
If you are hesitant to whether read it or not, then read it, pick it up, even if you are someone who prefers more complicated prose!
It was a quick read, I really really enjoyed it. The plot was consistent, fast/medium paste, there weren't any moments when I felt bored. It was really fun to read, with a little mystery in between the pages.
The prose was good, not bad and at the same time easy to understand, even for someone with a not very good English level.
Why didn't I rate it 5 stars? Altho everything about the story was amazing and consistent, there are a few things the author could have added or disregarded that would have made this books tons better and more impactful. I'm stating these things here (This review has major spoilers):
- Daniel and Football: The first I had done when I read the reason Daniel plays football is shout: "No! If you don't like football, then don't play it! Just cuz your dad and Max love it doesn't mean you have to. If they love you, then it's because of who you are, not because you like what they like!" I was very disappointed to see that the author hasn't mentioned such an important thing even once. Sara could have told him such a thing, that people should love you for who you are but no one did. And I'm addressing this because a lot of people feel insecure thinking that their loved ones will abandon them if they don't like/do what they say. You should only do what you feel comfortable doing. I was expecting to read this since the first pages so I'm disappointed I didn't.
- The Parents: The relation with Emma is great. Steve is Steve. We saw the dad trying to be closer to his son. But his mother didn't play many parts in this story. I hoped to read more about her relationship with her son but unfortunately, she didn't do much. This isn't a very bad thing, since I think his mother is really cool, so this didn't bother me much.
- The OCD part: As you already know, the book is all about OCD, mental illness in general, and finding people like you. But little do you know, that the book is actually more about other things than it's about mental illness. The mental illness/ OCD was very present in the first half of the book, but by the 2nd half, it wasn't as prominent, but still present. So I hoped the author would have given more information about it, showcased more about its impacts etc... but generally, it was still good. I have OCD -that's why I picked up this book- so I know how it feels; it's different for everyone, but the author focused mainly on the compulsions, but there are also the intrusive thoughts, thoughts that tell you stuff you would never ever say and you spend hours explaining things t yourself in your own minds and repeating it over and over again, it's crazy yes. Or imagining things you don't like, like someone's death etc... I also didn't like how the author mainly mentioned the compulsions that occur at the routine, yet it could be anytime at day especially when you are stressed. It rarely happened at day to Daniel that it almost seemed as if it only happened at night. Now for the most important part: How to actually stop OCD? Yes, Daniel told Sara he is to seek help at the end of the book, but that wasn't enough at all. It should have been earlier in the book, Daniel should have read about it in the book Sara gave him and we should have read about him trying to stop it, for once not do what his mind tells him. This really bothered me at the end.
- The characters: I'm not going to talk about Daniel, Sara, Emma or even John, maybe not even Sara's mom. They were really really loveable and well written, especially Sara and Emma. I will be talking mainly about Taj, Max, and Raya. They felt a little bit shallow, perhaps cuz they weren't much present in the book, but they were enough. These especially just didn't get really attached to them. It's not something about the book but I felt like mentioning them.
Nevertheless, the ending was really satisfying, the book was really good and might just reread it. Still, these elements I mentioned above could have really enhanced the book by a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Grief and Medical content
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