Review by Emily, age 16

From thumb sucking to nail biting, nearly everyone has a bad habit during some part of their lives. Yet, as life continues, people usually grow out of these habits. For Tara Sullivan though, unusual habits control her life and only get worse as time passes. It was as if invisible dictators had snuck into my brain, held my real thoughts hostage and made me a slave to their whims.

When Tara enters kindergarten, she acts like most five-year-olds, except that within her she hides unusual fears that cause her great anxiety. Slowly her fears become apparent to those around her. During fire drills she cries, fearing that she will die without her family. Even with the constant assurance and support of her friends and family, Tara's fears and obsessions grow.

Tara's world becomes torn apart by bad habits that she cannot control, despite her desperation to stop them.

In fifth grade Tara hears a common rhyme: Step on a crack, break your mother's back. From that point, Tara not only feels the need to avoid every crack in order to protect her mother, but also to count every crack as well. Everyday, she counts the cracks on the way to and from school, going back and starting over if someone interrupts her.

Tara becomes more anxious and begins to pray any time anyone uses profane language in an effort to keep them from going to hell. The harder Tara tries to control her thoughts, the worse they get. Eventually Tara develops a habit in which she touches the doorknob and kisses her hand thirty-three times every time she goes in or out the door.

Her family notices her unusual habits and tries to get help. This only leads to a series of misdiagnoses. Tara becomes enveloped in her habits and neglects her friends. Her habits push her friends away and evoke disturbing behavior from her mother. Tara's world becomes torn apart by bad habits that she cannot control, despite her desperation to stop them.

This book seems to give an accurate portrayal of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Since the author has suffered from OCD herself, the book includes a lot of factual information. It not only portrays the effect of the disease on Tara, but also on her family and friends. At times, the book seems too involved in Tara's habits and you want something else to balance it out. Eventually though, the author includes other issues (anorexia, pregnancy, and alcoholism) that affect Tara's friends. This gives the reader a needed break and shows that everyone has their own demons to battle.

This quick read offers those who know someone with OCD and those curious about the disease, a look inside the mind of a sufferer. Well-written and compelling, anyone interested in the story of a teen struggling with a serious mental health problem will surely learn from and appreciate this novel.

Published by Delacorte Press
149 p.

Check out the official web site for resources and further information about OCD.  Obsessive-Compulsiv