Psychtember Interview with Jennifer Brown (and Giveaway!)

Jennifer Brown, author of Hate List, Bitter End, and Perfect Escape, is dropping by the blog today with an interview for Psychtember! I reviewed Bitter End for Psychtember last year and Perfect Escape this time around.

Here's a little more info about Jennifer and her most recent YA novel Perfect Escape:

"I've pretty much always been a dreamer, lining up my dolls and stuffed animals on the stairs and "teaching" them things. I had imaginary friends (which was good because we moved pretty often and I pretty regularly found myself with few real ones) and would hold "conversations" with them. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was telling them stories, and it was my favorite pastime.

I never wanted to be a writer (I was going to be a teacher), even though I was always writing. My first story was a short story, written in 4th grade. It was two pages long, hand-written, and my characters had names like Donna Schlieigermeigssterkks. I showed it to my grandma, who loved it so much she called my aunt on the phone and read it to her. Even though Grandma was cracking up while reading it, I was hooked by the celebrity of it all. Since then, I've always written, even when I thought nobody would ever read any of it.

Writing didn't turn into a dream until about 10 years ago when my husband, Scott assured me people wouldn't laugh at me. Turns out, he was wrong. People laugh at my writing all the time. It's just... well... I'm a humor-writer... laughing is what I want them to do. It also turns out he was right. Sometimes I can write serious stuff, too." (from her website)

"Kendra has always felt overshadowed by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him to live a life of carefully coordinated routines. The only way Kendra can stand out next to Grayson is to be perfect, and she has perfection down to an art -- until a cheating scandal threatens her flawless reputation.

Behind the wheel of her car, with Grayson asleep beside her, Kendra decides to drive away from it all -- with enough distance, maybe she'll be able to figure everything out. But eventually, Kendra must stop running and come to terms with herself, her brother, and her past.

With undeniable grace and humor, acclaimed author Jennifer Brown explores OCD, the pressure for perfection, and the emotional highs and lows of a complex sibling relationship." (from Goodreads)

Now for the questions...

1.) Perfect Escape, Bitter End, and Hate List are all contemporary YA books tackling issues related to mental health and psychology. What motivates you to write stories involving these kinds of emotionally hard-hitting topics? Do you think you'll continue to write in this vein, or do you ever see yourself switching gears entirely to another style or genre?

The things I write about are things that real teens are encountering every day. I think it's important to talk about tough issues and how we can overcome them. Knowledge truly is power, and the first step to making change, and I like writing books that can help get a discussion going. Also, my wish is that my books, tough as the subjects are, will provide some hope to young adults who are experiencing the things my characters are going through.

I do think I'll continue to write these kinds of stories, always, but I love to try out new things. New styles, new genres, new audiences all interest me, so I definitely hope to write some stories in different genres as well.

2.) You clearly do your research when it comes to the psychology of your characters' behaviour. Do you find it a challenge to balance communicating facts/knowledge about a disorder or issue with making your characters and their interactions believable? If so, how do you approach this hurdle?

I actually think really understanding a social issue or the psychology of my characters helps me make them more believable. In general, what works for me best is understanding everything I can about what makes my characters tick. When I have troubles, it's because I don't know them well enough. The hurdle can sometimes be making sure the story isn't too "textbook." What is most dramatic isn't always what's most realistic. It's a fine line to walk.

3.) The term "OCD" appears a lot these days in pop culture and the media, but it's not always used correctly, resulting in misinformation about the disorder in the general public. If you could ensure that readers remembered one fact about OCD from Perfect Escape, what would it be?

I think a lot of people confuse perfectionism with OCD. You hear people say, "I've got a touch of OCD" when they really mean that they're perfectionistic about something -- they like their things kept just-so, or their house super clean, or they don't like to touch door handles of public restrooms and so forth. But OCD can be a debilitating anxiety disorder that can really interrupt someone's life. Some people who have OCD are, in many ways, held hostage by it. They might spend hours each day washing their hands or brushing their teeth, they might not be able to leave their houses or will spend so long with their rituals before leaving their houses that they're chronically late and will lose jobs and relationships or so forth.

I also think it's really important to remember that a person who suffers from a mental illness is not only that mental illness. It can be so easy to get frustrated or frightened or just want to condemn a person for their struggles, but as Grayson showed in Perfect Escape, there are lots of complexities and emotions that come with mental illness, not the least of which is the desire to be out from under it.

Also, it's important to me that people understand what it's like growing up alongside someone with mental illness. Sometimes it can be easy to ignore the "well child," in favor of the one who needs more attention. Like Kendra, sometimes siblings of someone who struggles just want to be heard, be validated.

4.) It's unusual these days to see a YA novel without a central romance, but in Perfect Escape the focus is on the brother-sister relationship of Kendra and Grayson. Were you concerned that this might negatively affect the appeal of the book to teens? What qualities would you say Kendra's and Grayson's relationship embodies that would not be present in a romance?

Really, none of my novels have much of a romantic element. You get to see glimpses here and there of Nick's and Valerie's relationship before the shooting in Hate List, and you get to see the buildup of Alex's and Cole's relationship in Bitter End, but neither of those novels really have any sort of central romance to them.

Honestly, I'm not even thinking "romantic relationship" when I sit down to write a novel. There are many relationships outside of romantic ones that are interesting and important to teens. I get a lot of reader comments about the relationship between Valerie and her younger brother, Frankie, in Hate List, so I know that teens do care about sibling relationships. I know that romantic relationships are important to teens, but so are best friend relationships, parent relationships, extended family relationships, work relationships, and sibling relationships, so I wasn't worried about teens being able to relate.

I think one thing that Kendra's and Grayson's relationship embodies that romances might not is ease. They're both comfortable just being themselves and saying what they're thinking, and not worrying about "looking good" to one another. This lends itself well to humorous moments as well as touching moments, and I think it helps us to see all the nuances of the characters a little better, because nobody is putting up any sort of front.

5.) If you could match up two characters from any of your three published YA novels — either romantically or just as friends — who would you pair, and why?

I would try to match up Grayson with the Alex, Zach, Bethany friend trio in Bitter End. I think they would accept him for who he is, and I think he could use a few more friends.

6.) You've got two more YA books coming out in the next couple years: Thousand Words, about a teen girl caught in a "sexting" scandal, and Torn Away, about grief in the aftermath of a tornado. Can you give us a few hints about what to expect from either of these?

These are two very different novels. In Thousand Words, you can expect to see what happens when a bad breakup turns into a worst nightmare. It's a worst-case-scenario of what could happen when a naked photo goes viral and gets labeled "child porn." In Torn Away, my main character, Jersey, loses everything in a tornado, and spends the summer being shuttled around to various family members. It's a story about family, and love, and acceptance.

Thanks so much, Jennifer, for these thoughtful replies to my questions!

Jennifer has kindly offered up *signed* copies of both Bitter End and Perfect Escape for giveaway.

So, here's how this is going to work:

- There will be TWO winners. Each winner will receive one copy of Bitter End and one of Perfect Escape.

The rules:

- Entrants must be 13 years or older.

- Open to US only

- One entry per person

- Following and tweeting are not necessary but always appreciated!

- Ends Oct 10, at 11:59 pm EST.

- Winners will be selected randomly and contacted by e-mail

To enter, please fill out THIS FORM. Comments are wonderful but do not count as entries.

Perfect Escape: A Psychtember Review

Patient: Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Presentation (from Goodreads): Kendra has always felt overshadowed by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him to live a life of carefully coordinated routines. The only way Kendra can stand out next to Grayson is to be perfect, and she has perfection down to an art -- until a cheating scandal threatens her flawless reputation.

Behind the wheel of her car, with Grayson asleep beside her, Kendra decides to drive away from it all -- with enough distance, maybe she'll be able to figure everything out. But eventually, Kendra must stop running and come to terms with herself, her brother, and her past.

With undeniable grace and humor, acclaimed author Jennifer Brown explores OCD, the pressure for perfection, and the emotional highs and lows of a complex sibling relationship.

Assessment:

Axis 1. Characters

Kendra: Honestly, I found her pretty annoying through most of the book — not so much in terms of personality (although she does act kind of sanctimonious, like she knows best), but more in terms of the choices she makes, some of which are obviously poor decisions. For instance, going on this very unplanned roadtrip and worrying her parents like crazy. That made me mad, because it's so inconsiderate; I wanted her to think about other people for once! She's quite self-centered, and even towards the end she's not really thinking about what they'd be going through. Sure, she's in contact with them periodically (and rather sporadically), but she hardly gives them any information at all. I rather suspect this sort of perspective is fairly common in teens though, where they can't stretch their minds beyond their own little bubble to try to think about what their parents might be feeling.

In Kendra's defense, by the end she does think about what it would be like to be someone else — specifically, Grayson — and she finally takes in what he's saying. I'm glad she at last came to a certain realization (spoiler, highlight to read: that she can't "fix" her brother and shouldn't really be trying, that she was creating a "shadow" for him as well, and that she hadn't really thought about how it must feel for Grayson), but it took a long time! For all the pondering she does — and yes, she can be very reflective, spending a lot of time thinking about Grayson's and her motivations and behaviour, etc. — the girl is quite dense in some ways. Plus, oddly enough despite all this personal reflection, she also makes these rash decisions that seem like she's not really thinking things through at all!

I also wish we'd gotten more insight into Kendra's problems in striving for perfection. She recognizes why she does it, but I would have liked to have better understood how a certain plot got started (spoiler: the cheating storyline. As it is, it seemed like a subplot thrown in there to show that Kendra wasn't perfect, and just didn't seem that well-formed. I felt like we were missing something.)

In some ways, Kendra's very immature, but in her personal analysis she can be too mature for her age sometimes. Her level of insight is a bit too deep to be believable for a teen. 

Grayson: Jennifer Brown does quite a good job of portraying an individual with serious obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It's difficult to discuss Grayson without talking about all of the psychological aspects, so an in-depth look at his character is below, on Axis 4.  

Kendra and Grayson: It's refreshing to see such an involved brother/sister relationship; it's unusual for that to be the focal point of the story in YA. Obviously in some ways Kendra and Grayson don't understand each other very well, and with Grayson being in and out of treatment they haven't seen that much of each other. When they were younger, though, they had a fairly healthy relationship, and it's good to watch them trying to renew that towards the end. There's also a bit of interesting role reversal going on, since the older brother is the one with a mental disorder; this changes the dynamic of a traditional older brother/younger sister relationship. 

Rena: I'm not sure how I feel about the addition of Rena (and Bo) to the big picture, since they seemed stuck in there more just to flesh out the cast than to have a storyline in their own right. However, I did like Rena as a person, and she makes a good contrast to Kendra — in some ways they're similar, in others quite different. Rena's a stranger, and has no history with Grayson, so she can treat him differently than Kendra does. Her role as a teen mom reflects the theme of responsibility, which ties into other aspects of Kendra's life. I must say, though, that Rena's and Bo's story could have used some more resolution; I was still curious about how things turned out for them by the end.

Axis 2. Premise/plot

The pacing of this book is really, really molasses-like slow. At least until the final few chapters, when everything comes to an emotional head. When they first start out on the road trip, there's a little bit of momentum, but then there's a huge chunk in the middle where frankly, not much happens. They meet Rena, they wander around, they stay at crummy motels, they swim in a stream, and Kendra tries to cure her brother's OCD. There's also a fair bit of repetition in Kendra's introspective analysis of herself and her brother. It would be good if she could actually accurately analyze herself, but it takes her a while. Basically, I like the idea of the premise here, but not the execution.

I thought there should have been more exciting plot points happening — after all, it's a road trip! But this is probably the worst road trip I've read about. The emotional stress that the characters are undergoing means that no one is really having any fun for most of it, and that means the reader isn't either. Basically, it's a depressing road trip. 

I wish we'd seen what happened once they returned home, both in terms of the fall-out from Kendra's past transgressions (spoiler: the cheating-on-exams fiasco) and in terms of Grayson's next steps. It would have been nice to have gotten some indication that he would be returning to therapy/treatment. He obviously has trouble functioning in some situations due to his anxiety disorders, and that's something he should get help for, particularly as it's affecting the rest of his family. The family dynamic is complicated, but we don't really get to see much of the parents, unfortunately. I hope that Kendra and Grayson tell their parents what they told each other, because while they try pretty hard to be good parents, they're not going to know everything going through their kids' minds.

There's no central romance, and while I do like a romantic plotline in my books, I think a romance would have been out of place here. It would have hijacked the whole storyline involving Grayson's OCD and his relationship with Kendra, and that is obviously the heart of this book. Not all YA books need a romance, but a lot have them, and it's kind of gutsy of Jennifer Brown to write a YA without one. (On the other hand, it might have moved the plot along a little faster!)

As for the Zoe subplot, I enjoyed the final climactic scene where Kendra defends her brother; it was nice to see her finally stand up for him, because in her own head she does a lot of blaming him and being ashamed of him. I also liked how this storyline was resolved — it's different and a little unexpected. Spoiler: it was somehow rewarding to see that Kendra wasn't so attached to Zoe and their history of friendship that she was willing to let bygones be bygones. Kendra makes the choice to dissolve the friendship, and I appreciated that she doesn't act like the perfect friend.  

Axis 3. Writing Style

I didn't think the writing style was anything really special. It's somewhat repetitive, and while the quality of the writing is pretty good, the style itself is fairly generic. It's easy to read, though, and towards the end the drama is handled quite well.

I would have welcomed some more description of the places they go (minus the motels — we're told enough about those). I know that the road trip isn't really the point of the story, but more detailed description of the scenery might have been nice. 

The dialogue is authentic for the most part, and the emotions the characters display are quite realistic. This is especially true for the interactions between Kendra and Grayson. Jennifer Brown does a good job of getting into the head of an individual whose brother has OCD, and exploring the different layers of emotion that would accompany someone who has to deal with all the consequences that come from living with him. Even when Kendra and Grayson have a "heart-to-heart," the author doesn't go over-the-top into super sappy. Really, the last couple of chapters were some of the best because all of the emotions are finally coming out after having been damped down by both characters.

Axis 4. Psychological Accuracy

For someone trying to understand classic OCD, and what it's like to live with a family member with a serious form of it, I think this would be a good portrayal to read. Grayson displays several symptoms of OCD as well as what I suspect is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). We're told that he struggles with anxiety disorders and depression in addition to his OCD, but we're never told the specifics. I'm not so sure about the depression; he has a pretty low mood generally, so perhaps he is dysthymic, but I don't know that he qualifies for major depressive disorder.

His anxiety disorder symptoms are numerous. For starters, counting and arranging are compulsions for him, making me inclined to say that he has a symmetry subtype of OCD. Grayson also struggles with germs, so he may have the contamination subtype as well (it's difficult to say if his issues with germs are GAD, OCD, or both). Grayson has a variety of compulsions he performs — counting the number of steps he takes, counting rocks, counting numbers out loud, having one rock in each pocket, and others.

Some of Grayson's OCD behaviours make a certain sense to him. For instance, he believes he needs to quit counting on an even number to keep people safe ("He told me a year ago that if he stopped counting on an odd number, even accidentally, it meant that someone he loved would die"), which is typical of OCD. However, even Grayson himself doesn't know why he does certain actions. For instance, Kendra at one point asks him why he starts arranging rocks on the car dash; his response is a simple, "I don't know...It felt like I needed to." This "just right" feeling is fairly common in individuals with OCD. Kendra also raises the interesting point that Grayson can develop a new obsession or an old one can return, which I think is true of many individuals with OCD.

His worries — about dying of disease, danger in crossing overpasses, natural disasters — seem to fit with GAD. The focus here is definitely more on his OCD, though, since that is the more obvious issue he is dealing with. I wish we'd seen more of his other anxiety disorders separate from the OCD, but obviously in someone co-morbid for two or more anxiety disorders, there will be some entangling of the disorders. There's overlap and interaction going on, so you can't tease them apart from each other fully. That's actually illustrated quite well here in that you can't exactly separate Grayson's OCD from his GAD (and whatever else he might have), and there are obviously certain themes that cross disorders. For example, his concerns about germs seem to crop up in both in his OCD and GAD symptoms. Still, it would have been helpful to have been given a standard psychological explanation for his other anxiety disorders. Kendra mentions that he "what-ifs" and catastrophizes, which are definitely associated with GAD, but we're not privy to much detail.

Grayson also presents with a symptom that I wasn't aware was associated with OCD, but apparently can be: a throat-clearing tic. I did a little bit of research and there is an overlap in patients diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome who have OCD symptoms, and vice-versa. In fact, it looks like certain researchers have designated a specific set of symptoms "Tourettic OCD." I'm not sure that Grayson would fulfill the requirements for full-blown Tourette's syndrome, but his throat-clearing tic (and perhaps his need to tap) might qualify him for "Tourettic OCD" in addition to classic OCD. Since we're not reading the book from Grayson's perspective, we don't really know what sensations or cognitions he's experiencing, so it's difficult to say if some of his behaviours fall more into the "tic" category or the "compulsion" one.

Occasionally he'll also have an emotional/mental meltdown, which I suspect would be considered a panic attack. I think in Grayson's case these panic attacks are more strongly related to his GAD symptoms, although he also gets flustered and anxious when his compulsive rituals are interrupted.

One can't really separate Grayson from his symptoms, since they're a large part of who he is at this point in his life. However, we are shown that he has a great personal interest in rocks — and unlike his sister Kendra, who calls him a "rock junkie" at one point, I don't think that aspect of Grayson is really part of his OCD or other symptoms. Yes, he likes to count rocks, but I think the obsessive-compulsive aspect there is the counting more than it is the rocks. After all, sometimes he just counts numbers on their own, or the steps he takes. I wish this distinction had been made clearer.

Also, it should be noted that Kendra really shouldn't be trying to treat her brother.  She has no credentials or training, and doesn't even fully understand what exposure therapy is. Plus, her personal connection to him makes things even more complicated. There are just so many ways in which it could go wrong — and Jennifer Brown shows us this. It's good to see, though, that Grayson has a sense of responsibility about his own disorder and recognizes that he needs his medication.

Validity Score: How psychologically accurate was Perfect Escape?

Axis 5. Miscellaneous

Personally, I found Bitter End (which I reviewed for Psychtember last year) more gripping. Perfect Escape just doesn't have as much driving it, giving it momentum.

Patient shares symptoms with: Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe, A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie by Matt Blackstone, Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo

 

Patient's statement:

"I couldn't count how many times I'd watched Grayson do this. When I was little, I used to wait until he was finished and then run up beside him and brush my hand through the lines just to mess them up. It made him cry and his face always got beet-red and I thought it was funny. But by the time we were ten and thirteen and he was spending sometimes four hours a day lining up his coins and pulling out wads of his own hair in frustration because he couldn't get them perfect, it wasn't funny anymore. I spent a lot of those nights sitting next to him with a ruler in my hand, helping him move coins such minuscule degrees I couldn't even see the movement. Is this good, Grayson? Does this make you happy?"

Diagnosis: 3 shooting stars. (This is my rating for the story overall, not specifically the psychological aspect.)

Disclaimer: I received this book for review from the publisher.

This book counts towards my goal for the 2012 Just Contemporary reading challenge. 

Guest Post: Hoarding and OCD in The Butterfly Clues

I'm happy to welcome Rebecca Taylor back to the blog for another Psychtember guest post! You can read her guest post for last year's event here.

I wanted to start by thanking Danya for inviting me to guest blog on her site, I love connecting with other bloggers and having the opportunity to reach a wider audience. So to all you fellow bloggers who are reading this (hint, hint) feel free to hit me up about a multitude of topics (psychology, writing, reading, working, kids…you name it!)

So I wanted to write about hoarding for several different reasons. One, I have had my copy of THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison sitting on my bedside table for months waiting patiently for my attentions. For those of you who are not familiar with this book, the main character, Lo, is a hoarder AND has OCD (counting, word repetitions, and complex rituals.) Two, I have recently become completely addicted to watching HOARDING: BURIED ALIVE on TLC. And three, it was the first topic that sprang to mind that wasn’t already being covered by another guest blogger.

I like to start by saying that unlike many other “topic” YA books, THE BUTTERFLY CLUES is not actually about hoarding or OCD. It is actually a mystery about a murdered exotic dancer named Sapphire and Lo’s drive to solve that murder. For you writers out there, the hoarding and OCD are really used more as interesting character flaws and also serve (quite nicely I might add) to create conflict and serve certain plot elements where needed. Having said this, I would say that the hoarding and OCD come up so frequently throughout the book, that they are almost like another character in and of themselves or a C storyline if you will. Which, given the nature of these disorders, seems appropriate because both hoarding and OCD can be so disruptive to typical life functions that they become entities to contend complicating even the most simple of daily functions. So why the book is not about hoarding directly, I think Kate Ellison did a really wonderful job of showing how the disorder impacts Lo’s ability to solve this mystery much the same as how real people need to manage their real life under the constraints of a debilitating disorder.

I really did enjoy this book.

As far as hoarding goes, oh lord, what a challenging mental health condition that impacts every area of a person’s life. Hoarding is a new disorder being considered for addition to the DSM V (now set for publication in May of 2013) and the criteria under Obsessive Compulsive and Related disorder are looking something like this:

A. Persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value.  

B. This difficulty is due to a perceived need to save the items and distress associated with discarding them.

C. The symptoms result in the accumulation of possessions that congest and clutter active living areas and substantially compromise their intended use. If living areas are uncluttered, it is only because of the interventions of third parties (e.g., family members, cleaners, authorities).

D. The hoarding causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (including maintaining a safe environment for self and others).

E. The hoarding is not attributable to another medical condition (e.g., brain injury, cerebrovascular disease, Prader-Willi Syndrome).

F. The hoarding is not better accounted for by the symptoms of another DSM-5 disorder (e.g., hoarding due to obsessions in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, decreased energy in Major Depressive Disorder, delusions in Schizophrenia or another Psychotic Disorder, cognitive deficits in Dementia, restricted interests in Autism Spectrum Disorder).

Specify if:

With Excessive Acquisition: If symptoms are accompanied by excessive collecting or buying or stealing of items that are not needed or for which there is no available space.

It goes on to address to what degree the person has insight into their disorder and this appears to be the key to whether or not they are successful in diminishing the hoard through therapy because the people who have poor insight into their hoarding tendencies seem to go round and round in a frustrating and confusing cognitive loop of justification for their hoarding. Practically every item has great necessity and value to the individual and their anxiety about parting with their belongings is so intense, when challenged to even make decisions about letting a singular item go to either the dump or donation, those with poor insight become masters at avoidance, deflections, and circular logic. When pressed, they sometimes become very angry and aggressive probably as a learned behavior that is often successful in driving others away. If hoarding continues unabated, living conditions can become so dilapidated that routine maintenance and cleaning become impossible. Kitchens and bathrooms become unusable as toilets and sinks overflow, pipes break, walls and roofs deteriorate, bugs and animals move in and food, garbage and feces pile up and into the preexisting piles.

In THE BUTTERFLY CLUES, Lo’s hoard is contained in her bedroom and is not noticed by grief stricken parents: a drug dependent and depressive mother and a workaholic father. I would say that Lo’s insight into her hoard is very poor and, while it is not addressed directly in the book, it does not seem like she would, at this stage of her life, be very receptive to therapy. But, as I said before, this is not really the point of the book in the first place so I’ll just keep my armchair quarter back opinions to myself, ahem.

In short, yes I recommend reading THE BUTTERFLY CLUES. I do not recommend hoarding.  And now, I’m going to go clean out my closet.

Rebecca Taylor is a school psychologist and author of YA fiction. ASCENDANT, the first book in her ASCENDANT series, releases in June 2013 from Crescent Moon Press. She is represented by Emma Patterson at The Wendy Weil Agency Inc.

Follow her at:

Twitter: @RTaylorBooks

Facebook: http://facebook.com/RebeccaTaylorBooks

Blog: http://rebeccataylorbooks.blogspot.com

If you would like Rebecca to be a guest blogger on your site, email her at Rebecca@rrtaylor.com

     

ASCENDANT by Rebecca Taylor
(Crescent Moon Press, June 2013)

When I was twelve, my mother disappeared. I was the first person to never find her.

I’m sixteen now and she has never been found, alive or dead.

I’m not the girl I should have been.

When Charlotte Stevens, bright but failing, is sent to stay at her mother’s childhood home in Somerset England her life is changed forever. While exploring the lavish family manor, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte discovers a stone puzzle box that contains a pentagram necklace and a note from her mother—clues to her family’s strange past and her mother’s disappearance. Charlotte must try to solve the puzzle box, decipher her mother’s old journals, and figure out who is working to derail her efforts—and why. The family manor contains many secrets and hidden histories, keys to the elegant mystery Charlotte called mom and hopefully, a trail to finding her.

Thanks very much, Rebecca, for this thoughtful and informative discussion of the OCD/hoarding portrayal in The Butterfly Clues!

For those of you who have read The Butterfly Clues, what did you think of the presentation of Lo's mental health issues?

Waiting on Wednesday: If You Find Me and OCD Love Story

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and features books that we just can't wait to get our hands on!

This week's Psychtember WoW picks are:

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

From Goodreads: 

"THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND ...

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen-year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey's younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and the girls are found by their father, a stranger, and taken to re-enter the "normal" life of school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must come to terms with the truth of why their mother spirited them away ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won't let her go ... a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn't spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

IF YOU FIND ME is a riveting mix of psychological tension and page-turning mystery that asks profound questions about family, truth and love."

The start of this one sounds dark, but I'm interested to see how the transition goes for Carey and Jenessa. Jenessa's elective mutism also sounds intriguing! Plus, apparently some of the proceeds of this book go towards a Christmas project for teens with cancer.

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu

From Goodreads:

"Corey Haydu’s young adult OCD LOVE STORY, in which a girl with OCD bonds with a boy from her group therapy program only to push their budding relationship beyond it limits when her further descent into Obsessive Compulsive Disorder leads her to stalk the objects of her obsession, and she must choose: confront her past or forever be controlled by it."

Love that the term "OCD" is right there in the title, and also that the cover is so bright and vivid! Makes a nice change from all the typical "issue book" covers. I just hope that the OCD is portrayed accurately and not hijacked by the "love story" side of things.

What books are you waiting for?

Coming To Terms With Psychology Terms

Casual misuse of psychology terminology really irritates me. I'm sure it must be the same for any field of specialization, but I think we see more incorrect use of words related to psychology in books, just because human behaviour is such an important part of characterizations and stories generally.

So, I'm going to list a few terms here and their correct meanings, so that the next time you read them you'll be able to spot them and go, "Aha! This author so totally didn't do their research here."

Psychopathic: describing someone who is a psychopath — an individual with a number of distinctive characteristics, including limited emotional capacity, manipulative tendencies, and an absence of guilt or empathy. As in, "The psychiatrist testified that the serial killer was psychopathic." Not to be confused with psychotic. Helpful pop culture example: Dexter.

Psychotic: referring to an individual who experiences a disconnect with reality, in the form of either auditory and/or visual hallucinations, delusions, catatonia, or a thought disorder (in other words, psychosis). As in, "Sally admitted she saw chartreuse flamingoes doing the hula, and the therapist realized that Sally was psychotic." Disorders which may have psychosis as a symptom include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, and substance abuse can also result in psychosis.

Schizophrenic: describing an individual with schizophrenia — a mental disorder characterized by a combination of symptoms that may include psychosis, personality/behavioural change, and difficulties with social, emotional and cognitive functioning. There are five subtypes of schizophrenia recognized by the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)-IV: paranoid, catatonic, disorganized, undifferentiated, and residual. Helpful pop culture example: John Nash from A Beautiful Mind.

Dissociative identity disorder: a rare mental illness characterized by two or more identities present within one individual (sometimes termed "alters"). The cause is still not well-understood, although there may be a connection to trauma experienced. This used to be called split, dual, or multiple personality disorder, but the DSM-IV term is dissociative identity disorder. People sometimes confuse this one with schizophrenia, but they are two very different disorders. Helpful pop culture example: Gollum/Smeagol from Lord of the Rings.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder: one type of anxiety disorder that involves obsessions (cognitions) the individual does not want to have, followed by behaviour or mental acts the individual feels compelled to perform to rid themselves of the anxiety brought on by the obsession. I see the term "OCD" thrown around so frequently that you'd think half the population had it, but you can't claim that you have OCD just because you have a particular quirk or obsession. There are specific diagnostic criteria that must be met, just like any other disorder. Not to be confused with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Helpful pop culture example: the guidance counselor, Emma, from Glee.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: unlike OCD, this is a personality disorder, not an anxiety disorder. Someone with OCPD has a general preoccupation with perfectionism, order, and control; symptoms include: extreme attention to detail and regulations, rigidity of personal views, dislike of delegating tasks to others, and excessive devotion to work. Unlike OCD, which is ego-dystonic (incompatible with the individual's self-concept, making it unwanted), people with OCPD do not find their symptoms problematic (making it ego-syntonic). Helpful pop culture example: Monica from Friends (admittedly, she's never diagnosed with it, but I suspect she at least has a tendency to OCPD).

Asperger's: a syndrome on the autism spectrum characterized by difficulties with interacting socially, and specific behavioural patterns. This is another term that gets tossed around pretty casually, but once again this is diagnosable; it can't be declared just because someone is quirky, geeky, or anti-social. Helpful pop culture examples: Brennan from Bones and Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory (Sheldon's is unconfirmed, but much of his behaviour is certainly indicative of Asperger's syndrome).
 

Subconscious: in essence, a word made up by pop psychology. If you're talking about Freudian theory, please do not use this term as it is incorrect. For more info see this Wikipedia article.

Unconscious: Freud's term for the part of the mind that is wholly outside of our own awareness. This, the preconscious, and the conscious make up the mind in Freudian theory.

Hope this helps the next time you stumble across a psych term you're not sure about while reading! I know I've only touched on a few here, though, so psychology aficionados: which terms do you find being misused in YA (or other books)?

George Harrar Interview & Giveaway!

Janet Ruth Young, author of The Babysitter Murders, has done her second in a set of interviews for Psychtember, with authors of YA books involving obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This one is with George Harrar about his book Not As Crazy As I Seem! So be sure to check it out on Janet's blog here!

Then come back and enter the giveaway I'm hosting for a SIGNED paperback copy of Not As Crazy As I Seem.

Rules:

• Entrants must be 13 years or older.
• Open to US/Canada only (as per author's request)
• Tweeting and following are not required but much appreciated.
• One entry per person
• Winner will be selected randomly and contacted by e-mail for their address, which will then be passed on to the author, who'll ship out the prize.
• Ends Oct. 5 at 11:59 pm EDT.

This contest is now closed.

Thanks very much to George Harrar for providing the prize! 

Heidi Ayarbe Interview & Giveaway!

I wanted to give everyone a heads-up that Janet Ruth Young, author of The Babysitter Murders, is interviewing Heidi Ayarbe today about her book Compulsion! This is the first of a set of interviews Janet will be doing for Psychtember, with authors of YA books involving obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). So be sure to check it out on Janet's blog here!

Then come back and enter the giveaway I'm hosting for a SIGNED copy of Compulsion *and* swag.

Rules:

• Entrants must be 13 years or older.
• Open to US/Canada only (as per author's request)
• Tweeting and following are not required but much appreciated.
• One entry per person
• Winner will be selected randomly and contacted by e-mail for their address, which will then be passed on to the author, who'll ship out the prize.
• Ends Sept. 30 at 11:59 pm EDT.

This contest is now closed.

Thanks very much to Heidi Ayarbe for providing the prize!

Cryer's Cross: Guest Review

Ashley from Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing is here today for a Psychtember guest review of Cryer's Cross!

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann is a book I was really looking forward to reading. There was a lot of buzz about it in the blogging world before it came out. It seemed like it was going to be one of those wonderfully creepy books and it had a character dealing with a mental illness. Great, right?


Sadly, no. Not even close. :( It's a book that, in my opinion, failed on two levels. The first, was the story itself. It's supposed to be a creepy story about dangerous and bad happenings in a tiny town. When there are just over 200 people living in one town, everyone is noticed and one teenager going missing is a big deal. So when a second teen goes missing, everyone kind of panics. For Kendall, it's especially devastating, because the second student to go missing is her very best (and really only) friend. But even worse, Kendall has an OCD, so any disruption in her life and her schedule is more extreme that for most people, and she doesn't handle it very well on any level. 

Every few chapters, there was a short, 2-5 paragraph chapter in italics that was supposed to be spooky and creepy, and I imagine it was supposed to scare the readers. It's supposed to read like this haunted, disembodied voice, leaving cryptic clues and messages, to give the reader tiny hints here and there about what was really going on. But rather then being creepy they were boring, and with the exception of what '35 or 100' meant, I had everything pretty well figured out long before the end of the book. These sections with the cryptic voice of doom just tried too hard and just... didn't really work for me. 

But even more than that, the second level I feel the book failed on, I did not like the way Kendall's OCD was portrayed. You might have read my guest post for Danya about how I feel about OCD in YA (read that here) or my much more rant-like post about the topic on my own blog (read that here). If you have, you already have an idea of why this book would anger and frustrate me so much. I'm not an expert on OCD and I don't claim to be, but I do know enough to recognize that this book is not really an accurate portrayal of what a person experiencing an OCD really goes through. 


For one thing, an OCD is much more than just a loop of thought. More often than not, Kendall's OCD is portrayed as an idea getting stuck in her mind that repeats over and over and over. And while that is a part of OCD, it's different in reality than how it's portrayed here. Not all the thoughts that repeat in Kendall's mind are irrational and she is also able to control and regulate them sometimes. Also, she doesn't have a compulsion to get rid of the thoughts or the anxiety they cause. The thoughts don't even really give her anxiety, it's just annoying that she can't always change what she's thinking. Her compulsions are things like checking her locks before bed, and are completely unrelated to her obsessive thoughts. AND, when Kendall is too tired, she forgets to check the lock and just falls asleep (pg 25). THAT IS NOT REALISTIC. A compulsion is not something you 'remember' to do. It is something that you MUST do. If you truly have an OCD, you have to do it. It's an anxiety disorder and just NOT following through on the compulsions leads to serious and intense anxiety; the kind of anxiety that makes it impossible to function. 

Warning- This next part kinda gets a little spoilery, so I've put some of it in white text. Highlight to read:

I felt like McMann exploited a mental illness to give her character an easy out at the end of this book. Kendall finds her self trapped within the haunting and her "OCD brain" picks up one thought and won't let it go. She thinks it over and over, which allows her to break the hold the haunting has on her mind. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT AN OCD IS! An OCD is not a one-track mind that thinks the same thought over and over again. You can read either of my posts for a more detailed explanation, but an OCD is the combination of an Obsession- irrational and uncontrollable thought(s) AND the Compulsion that follows, which is an action taken by the person to overcome the anxiety caused by the thought. The person suffering from the OCD knows the thoughts and subsequent actions are irrational but cannot control them, and it is something that is disruptive to their lives. Kendall does not have that. 

Not only that, but I HATED the way both Kendall and other characters talked about the OCD. There is a scene where Kendall tells her mom that her "OCD is going crazy" (48). WTF. It's just... Not realistic. In any way. And it really bothers me. I'm trying really hard not to let this review turn into a huge rant again, since I already went there, but it really bothers me that people are going to read this book and assume that this is what a person suffering from OCD is like, or that this is what it means to have an OCD. And it's not. More than anything else, Kendall says she has OCD, but honestly, I never really saw thoughts or behaviors that could really be classified as an OCD. I felt like it was the author telling us she had an OCD so that she could use it to justify her ending. 

There were some things about the book that I did like. Jacien was great and I did like the way the relationship between him and Kendall grew and changed. His sister was also a great character and I liked watching Kendall interact when others (as long as she wasn't trying to describe her OCD). I'm still planning to read the Wake Trilogy, but I am highly unlikely to ever read a story of hers again if it has a character with a mental illness. 

Using a mental illness as an easy way out of an otherwise troublesome ending is wrong. It's wrong and does a disservice to both people who have an OCD and to the readers who are now going to walk away with yet another misconception about mental illness. 

Ashley has been fascinated by the mind since before she can remember and decided long before college that Psychology would be her field of study. She received a BS in Psychology and is currently deciding where it should take her next. Ashley would like it to be made clear that she is not an expert in the field, and that the thoughts and feelings expressed are hers derived from both academic and personal study and experience.  

Thanks for providing this detailed and thorough review, Ashley!

Readers — are you familiar with Cryer's Cross? What did you think of the way the OCD was handled?

Guest Post: Kissing Doorknobs and OCD

Zahida from Musings of a YA Reader is dropping by the blog today with her guest post for Psychtember on Kissing Doorknobs!

Thanks for having me on your blog today, Danya!

Growing up reading The Babysitters Club, I feel like I’ve been exposed to characters with various disorders from a young age. Remember Whitney who had Down syndrome and the girl who Kristy babysat who was an autistic savant? The first time I truly grasped that these characters had minds or brains that worked differently however was after reading Terry Spencer Hesser’s Kissing Doorknobs. Years later, I wouldn’t remember the story but would remember that the protagonist did odd things like kiss doorknobs when a family member – let’s call her X – suddenly began to take multiple showers every day. Her diagnosis by a psychiatrist after my parents realized that there was something wrong: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) – just like Tara.

Classified as an anxiety disorder, OCD typically manifests in adolescence and affects both genders equally. It is characterized by repetitive, unwanted and distressing thoughts (i.e. obsessions) and repetitive, stereotyped behaviours that individuals feel compelled to perform to reduce or prevent anxiety (i.e. compulsions).

Now that I’m more familiar with the disorder from a personal basis as well as having learned about it in pretty much every abnormal psychology course I’ve taken, I thought I’d re-read Kissing Doorknobs to see just how accurately it portrays the experience of someone with OCD. Really well, apparently.

Drawing on her own experience, Hesser realistically shows how compulsive rituals can change over time (e.g. from counting cracks to praying) and how debilitating life can become by having OCD. Imagine having to touch your front doorknob with your fingers a certain way and then kissing them, and doing this exactly thirty-three times before you can open the door to go out or for someone to enter! It seems so far out there and yet I know better, having heard stories about people with OCD who can’t take showers because their rituals are so complicated or who believe there are demons in their toilet and have a tough time going to the washroom.

Through the character of Sam, Hesser also shows that the symptoms of OCD can vary. Much like Sam, X’s main obsessions revolved around germs. Therefore, her easily noticeable – to her family anyway – compulsions meant that she took multiple showers, cut her hair to keep it short and wouldn’t let anyone touch her clothes after they were washed. Sam also demonstrates that OCD is something he and Tara will battle for the rest of their lives, and that there is always the chance for relapse. Though you would never know that X even has OCD, during periods of stress like exam time, it’s quite obvious to us that her symptoms worsen.

As well, Hesser does a great job depicting the impact of OCD on a family. There is a stigmatization against mental disorders and the fear along with anger and resentment were definitely emotions we went through as a family.

What’s interesting is that unlike schizophrenics, people suffering from OCD are aware that something is wrong with them. It’s impossible not to empathize with Tara as she wonders whether she is going and/or is insane or cries while performing her compulsions because of how humiliating some of them are. But, she still does them because it is the only way for her to untie the knot in her stomach.

For a relatively short book then, Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser is a good choice to read if you’re looking for a fictional novel about a character with OCD. Since it is older though, Tara is misdiagnosed a few times – which in a way is positive because sometimes it takes time before you can be diagnosed correctly. However, I’d like to think that psychiatrists and psychologists are better informed about this disorder now and would diagnose it correctly more often than not.   

Zahida blogs as A Canadian Girl at Musings of A YA Reader. Originally planning to major in genetics, she decided to take the first year psychology course offered at her university as an elective because she figured the subject material would be interesting. After having a terrific professor and not being bored at all in lectures, she decided to become a psych major instead and supplement her knowledge about the mind with knowledge about the brain by also majoring in neuroscience. She thinks it turned out to be a good decision because not only was the genetics course that she took in second year really boring; but also, cognitive psychology and neuroscience are becoming areas of burgeoning research.        

Thanks for stopping by, Zahida! It was very interesting to read your thoughts on the accuracy of Kissing Doorknobs, given your experience of having a family member with OCD.