This is a wonderful middle grade novel that will keep younger and older kids reading until the book is complete.
It is the first book that I know about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Kids who have this disease don’t want to talk about it to anyone. Some don’t even know what is going on with themselves. They feel crazy.
One of the main points that the author is trying to bring out is that OCD doesn’t have to define you. You are okay, despite the fact that you have OCD.
Daniel Leigh is the backup punter for the Erie Hills Elephants. Which really means he’s the water boy. He spends football practise perfectly arranging the water cups and imagining what would happen if monsters attacked the field.
Actually, he spends most of his time hoping no one notices his strange habits — he calls them zaps: avoiding writing the number 6 or flipping a light switch on and off dozens of times over.
He finds comfort in working on his novel, titled The Last Kid on Earth, but mostly he hopes no one notices that he might be crazy. So, he spends a lot of time alone trying to be creative.
Writing was the only thing that he could do that made any sense. He got to control everything. It was his world and his story and he could delete a sentence if he wanted and it would be gone. The Daniel he wrote about was normal, and he wanted to be that boy.
Daniel’s life takes a bizarre turn when he gets a note which reads I need your help. It is signed by Star Child. But what does that mean? Suddenly, Daniel who is a total no one at school, is swept up in a mystery that might change everything for him.
With great voice and grand adventure, this book is about feeling different and finding those who understand.
This is a great book for all kids. I love books of empowerment for kids who may feel a bit less than the others.
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Irene S. Roth
Irene Roth's Canadian Book Review Blog 