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A review by maggiemaggio
OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
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.