Obsessed

June 15, 2017
Can a girl fall off a cliff in s-l-o-w motion? That's how Allison's life seems to plummet during her sophomore year of high school in this fine debut memoir.After awakening from a terrible dream, Allison is abruptly afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder--although she doesn't truly understand the reason that she's suddenly associating commonplace objects and activities with brain cancer. First she has to avoid cracks in floors, but this rapidly devolves into restrictions on every aspect of her life--controlling her behavior, relationships, eating, sleeping, and personal hygiene, and completely derailing her ability to do well in school. Within weeks, she goes from being an excellent student positioned socially on the fringe of the popular group to a pariah who may fail her classes. That her obvious distress flies under the radar of her parents and teachers for so long is especially distressing. After her parents finally do intervene, she begins seeing a specialist whose treatment, combined with Allison's brave determination, makes all the difference. Depicted with affecting honesty (and including quite a lot of dialogue), Allison's journey is at once gripping and agonizing. Allison is white; her trials are a universal experience. Readers willing to share Allison's evident pain and humiliation may gain insight into a troubling disorder, but it's the joy of her slow recovery that they'll savor. (Memoir. 12-18)

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August 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-When she was 15, Britz had the ideal life: straight-A's, a spot on the cross country team, loving parents, a core group of friends, and an amazing wardrobe. But a disturbing nightmare, in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, convinced Britz that she was doomed. In order to escape such a fate, Britz began to avoid cracks, the color green, and pencils. Before long, her list of compulsions grew, and intrusive thoughts and "messages from God" overwhelmed her waking hours. Eventually Britz accepted the help her parents had so desperately wanted to provide. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Britz and her doctor worked hard to mitigate her obsessions. A lengthy memoir that reads like a novel, Britz's story starts at a slow pace and gains momentum as the severity of her condition increases. Readers will empathize with Britz, experiencing from her perspective the potential effects of OCD and cheering her along as she steadily improves. An ending note provides encouragement from the author along with a list of resources. VERDICT An important voice in the discussion of OCD, this book is a worthy addition to most teen memoir collections.-Amy Reddy, Lewiston High School, ME

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
After a terrifying nightmare, teenage Allison becomes obsessed with protecting herself and her family from the cancer she's sure lurks everywhere. Her dark journey into sudden-onset OCD is terrifying: each page of Britz's raw memoir chronicles her increasingly regimented world, and readers will sigh with relief when she finally seeks help. Deeply affecting, this is an essential addition to collections of books on mental illness. Websites.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)