OCD Love Story

In her first novel for teens, author Corey Ann Haydu skillfully tackles a most uncomfortable topic. Bea isn't exactly a likable character; she's an unreliable narrator who can't see the truth for most of the story: She's extremely obsessive compulsive, and her need to check in on (eavesdrop, follow home, call, etc.) Sylvia and Austin (and her ex-boyfriend, who took out a restraining order) isn't just a quirk; it's disturbing. Readers will want to cringe as Bea's mental illness makes her (and Beck) perform certain rituals, like driving less than 30 mph and turning around and around to make sure she didn't hit anyone or anything. But thanks to Haydu's excellent writing, Bea manages to remain someone you root for and hope gets better.

Bea and Beck's relationship isn't the typical swoony literary romance. Their first "proper" date is tragicomically filled with OCD obstacles -- he can't stop washing his hands or tapping the table eight times, and she can't stop focusing on the pointy utensils as safety threats. Still, they make sense together, in a dysfunctional but sweet way. They understand, although they each exhibit a different form of OCD, what the other's triggers are and why they just have to do seemingly irrational things. After getting through group and exposure therapy together, Bea and Beck share a remarkable commitment to each other that's touching and intimate. In the end, although much has gone wrong for them, they -- with a lot of a help -- realize that life can and does indeed get better.