Book talk: It's senior year and Danielle can't wait for it to be over. With her frizzy red hair, quirky tastes, and OCD she sticks out like a sore thumb. Despite all the trauma she endures at school, she finds it comforting to catalog her days there. She accomplishes this through a color-coded binder in which she keeps all her English essays, notes, important e-mails, and day-to-day journals. Experience school through her eyes and find out if Senior year will be the disaster she's expecting.
Rocks my socks: I loved the epistolary format as Danielle included not only letters but essays, her teacher's comments on the essays, and her own comments on her teacher's comments. I found the effect that The Big Lebowski had on her and the fact that it apparently has such a cult following amusing. I haven't read many books about someone coping with mental illness: regularly taking medication, attending therapy, social skills classes, etc. I really appreciated reading about her experiences and the perspective it provided. There were many great characters like her aunt who was always ready with words of wisdom, her friend Daniel who introduced her to The Dude, and her pen pal Justine. What really made the book though was Danielle and her frank descriptions of her life, her dreams, and her worries.
Rocks in my socks: zip
Every book its reader: I'd give this to teens looking for a high school misfit story. Anyone who has had to attend therapy or social skills groups themselves will particularly appreciate Danielle's experiences. 7th and up.
Extras:
Lauren Roedy Vaughn has her own website.
Bonus Quotes:
"Our mind is a crazy nightclub of cacophonous sound filled with strange images and one-night stands: our mind tells us lonely, loveless tales that leave us frightened but really have no lasting power."
Source: school library
OCD, the Dude, and Me by Lauren Roedy Vaughn: buy it or check it out today!
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