John Green
Dutton/Penguin, 2017 286 pages
Grades 7-Up
Realistic Fiction
Sixteen-year-old Aza has a problem. Her OCD has spun
out of control and she is struggling more than ever to function in a normal
way. Meanwhile, her best friend Daisy is trying to convince her to rekindle an
old friendship with Davis, whose rich father has disappeared, in order to solve
the mystery of the missing dad and collect the reward. Aza is finally convinced
and upon being reunited with Davis sparks fly. Aza gets pulled into Davis's
world as he copes with his father’s negligence and disappearance, all while
trying to take care of his younger brother. Meanwhile, the OCD is reaching
dangerous levels. To further complicate matters Daisy gets a boyfriend and is
not as accessible. A confrontation with Daisy lands Aza in the hospital
where the extent of her mental illness finally becomes noticeable. Will Aza find
freedom from the little voice inside her head that tells her to do irrational
things? Where will the romance with Davis lead? Will Aza and Daisy repair their
broken relationship and solve the mystery? Some answers are happy and some are
sad, yet through it all readers are left with a sense of hope and the realization that
this moment will not be forever.
Sure to appeal to The Fault in Our Stars fans, Green takes on another teenage tragedy: OCD. Though not as life threatening as cancer, OCD can be debilitating and lead to depression and suicide, which is currently the leading cause of death in teenagers. Green admits to struggling with this condition himself and his own person experience lends credibility to the voice of Aza. His fans may be a bit disappointed that the romance is moved to the back-burner. Aza is terrified of bacteria and disease and cannot kiss without freaking out, which puts a strain on the romance. This is more of a novel of dealing with mental illness and experiencing, through the first-person narration, what OCD feels like on a daily basis. It is also a novel of relationships between mothers and daughters, overcoming grief, what it means to be a friend and learning to see beyond your own "stuff" and realizing that the world does not rotate solely around you. By the book's end the mystery is solved, Aza's mental illness is under control, and her relationships with her mother and Daisy are somewhat healed, yet not everything ends happily. Not as brilliant as Looking for Alaska or as heartfelt as The Fault in Our Stars, Green still churned out another quality book that will be snatched up by his ever increasing super-fan base.
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