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A review by squirrelsohno
OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
4.0
I read OCD LOVE STORY on pretty much a whim. After picking it up at the ALA Annual Convention in Chicago, also pretty much on a whim, I pulled it out one day and began to read without a second thought. Having never experienced OCD, nor having experienced any real mental concerns outside your standard teenage therapy for “issues” as my mother referred to them, I’m not sure if Corey Anne Haydu got the experience correct in her young adult debut, but what I did find was a sweet story about a girl struggling to fix herself while being exceptionally creepy.
I mean it. Seriously. I got so much second-hand embarrassment from this book that it barely gets four stars. Bea, you creepy, creepy girl. Rooting for you was hard when you were seriously stalking people and going over the edge of what was illegal.
SWEET CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
At its heart, it’s hard to remember sometimes that OCD LOVE STORY is just that – the story of two teens with OCD who are falling in love, albeit in a very strange way. They meet at a dance where the power goes off and Bea helps Beck through a panic attack and kisses him before he bolts into the darkness. When they meet again in group therapy, they both know, but both realize that they have some big issues to work past. Like Bea being an obsessive note-taking stalker afraid of driving and weapons, and Beck being compelled to work out constantly and wash his hands.
It’s a match made in OCD heaven. Except for the fact Bea is stalking a rock star and his wife after overhearing them at therapy, and her compulsions are getting worse.
But it’s a romance! And it’s sweet! And it has a definite sexy side. I mean, there is naughtiness in the woods. How often do you see that in YA? Bea and Beck might have issues, but I really did like them together. What I didn’t like was Bea’s recollections of her past boyfriends, which never did thoroughly explain what happened to them. We’re given vague details about why one is in prison and one she can never speak to again, but never any concrete details. It’s frustrating.
WITH A SIDE OF SECOND-HAND EMBARRASSMENT
But my biggest problem with OCD LOVE STORY, the problem that earns this book more of a 3.5 instead of a 4 in my book, is the fact that I had to skip pages after Bea’s compulsions made me very, very embarrassed for her. This was a girl ruled by her compulsions, except sometimes what she did was not just illegal but very awkward.
Bea is a stalker, but how she goes about it just creeped me out. I didn’t mind the details about her other compulsions, like note-taking about crashes and serial killers and what not. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never spent hours on Wikipedia late at night doing the same thing. Luckily I don’t have OCD. I really don’t think I could handle it, especially not washing hands constantly, and ESPECIALLY not working out until I fell over and had to have someone pick me up before I ended up in the hospital.
All in all, would I suggest OCD LOVE STORY? Definitely, especially if you are into lighter contemporary romances for teens. While it certainly has its faults, from focusing too much on miniscule, unimportant details to forgetting others entirely, Haydu’s debut is an approachable, warming story about one girl getting over her faults and learning to live – and love – again.
VERDICT: While suffering some faults, most importantly making the reader feel embarrassed for the character, OCD LOVE STORY is a heartwarming, cute romantic comedy for teens. Recommended with a few reservations.
I mean it. Seriously. I got so much second-hand embarrassment from this book that it barely gets four stars. Bea, you creepy, creepy girl. Rooting for you was hard when you were seriously stalking people and going over the edge of what was illegal.
SWEET CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
At its heart, it’s hard to remember sometimes that OCD LOVE STORY is just that – the story of two teens with OCD who are falling in love, albeit in a very strange way. They meet at a dance where the power goes off and Bea helps Beck through a panic attack and kisses him before he bolts into the darkness. When they meet again in group therapy, they both know, but both realize that they have some big issues to work past. Like Bea being an obsessive note-taking stalker afraid of driving and weapons, and Beck being compelled to work out constantly and wash his hands.
It’s a match made in OCD heaven. Except for the fact Bea is stalking a rock star and his wife after overhearing them at therapy, and her compulsions are getting worse.
But it’s a romance! And it’s sweet! And it has a definite sexy side. I mean, there is naughtiness in the woods. How often do you see that in YA? Bea and Beck might have issues, but I really did like them together. What I didn’t like was Bea’s recollections of her past boyfriends, which never did thoroughly explain what happened to them. We’re given vague details about why one is in prison and one she can never speak to again, but never any concrete details. It’s frustrating.
WITH A SIDE OF SECOND-HAND EMBARRASSMENT
But my biggest problem with OCD LOVE STORY, the problem that earns this book more of a 3.5 instead of a 4 in my book, is the fact that I had to skip pages after Bea’s compulsions made me very, very embarrassed for her. This was a girl ruled by her compulsions, except sometimes what she did was not just illegal but very awkward.
Bea is a stalker, but how she goes about it just creeped me out. I didn’t mind the details about her other compulsions, like note-taking about crashes and serial killers and what not. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never spent hours on Wikipedia late at night doing the same thing. Luckily I don’t have OCD. I really don’t think I could handle it, especially not washing hands constantly, and ESPECIALLY not working out until I fell over and had to have someone pick me up before I ended up in the hospital.
All in all, would I suggest OCD LOVE STORY? Definitely, especially if you are into lighter contemporary romances for teens. While it certainly has its faults, from focusing too much on miniscule, unimportant details to forgetting others entirely, Haydu’s debut is an approachable, warming story about one girl getting over her faults and learning to live – and love – again.
VERDICT: While suffering some faults, most importantly making the reader feel embarrassed for the character, OCD LOVE STORY is a heartwarming, cute romantic comedy for teens. Recommended with a few reservations.