ebook: The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

                                                                     Carrie

                                                    

                                             Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

Adam is 15. His life changes the day that Robyn walks into his OCD support group. Immediately, he knows this is love, and he will do anything he can to get better in an attempt to win Robyn’s affection. Adam’s life is complicated. His parents are divorced, and since his father left, his mother has been hoarding.  His mother encourages him to keep her hoarding a secret for fear of losing custody of him, and this secrecy causes Adam to feel a lot of shame. Adam has a little half-brother who also displays a lot of anxiety. One of the more poignant parts of the book was when Adam, in an attempt to comfort his 4 year old brother, teaches him how to use OCD as a tool to curb anxiety. Adam spends a lot of effort trying to hide the OCD rituals that relieve his anxiety. There’s the counting…always odd numbers. There are elaborate rituals for clearing thresholds. There are secrets he buries too, like the threatening letters his mother is being sent. As his relationship with Robyn grows, he finds a true friend. He and Robyn are able to unburden themselves by sharing secrets that have caused them both shame.

I would recommend this book for middle school and early high school students. What makes this book really incredible are the parts where the OCD becomes a character in the room. Adam’s counting takes on a rhythmic quality which is palpable. The book also does a great job showcasing how OCD works very differently for different members of the support group. One member drives by an imagined car accident scene many times to assure himself he wasn’t responsible for an imagined hit and run. Robyn uses the rituals of Catholicism to calm her fears. Another group member obsesses over caloric intake to divert her anxieties. A young adult with anxiety or OCD would likely feel validated to see his/her experience mirrored back through this book.

Works Cited

Toten, Teresa. (2013.) The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B.  Toronto, Ontario. Random House Children’s Books.

Websites 

BBC Article on teen with OCD: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34052068/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-made-me-fearful-of-everything

OCD Resources: http://www.teresatoten.com/unlikelyhero_resources.html

OCD Resources for Teens: http://beyondocd.org/just-for-teens

Mental Illness in YAL Article: http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2015/08/the-mhyalit-discussion-hub-mental-health-in-young-adult-literature/

NPR Article on being "Triggered" with OCD http://www.npr.org/2012/03/29/149619994/triggered-anxiety-and-the-doubting-disorder

Book Excerpt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM2AFcbm2OE