Great look inside the mind of a teen with OCD.

See my full review here:
http://whatsonthebookshelf.blogspot.com/2012/07/compulsion.html ( )

In Compulsion, Jake Martin is gearing up for his third state soccer championship when his OCD ramps into high gear, forcing him to struggle to hold it together until after the big game. His life is already a challenge, given that his mother suffers from mental illness, his father is emotionally aloof, and his younger sister is focused on improving her social status in school. But when the spiders (as he describes the compulsive thoughts) get a hold of his brain, he has to follow the patterns, add the numbers to make primes, and do everything absolutely perfectly to keep the “magic” intact.

Author Heidi Ayarbe sets herself a difficult challenge in writing in Jake’s voice, because everything is filtered through his compulsion. It gives the reader a powerful take on the overwhelming constrictions that a person endures, but unfortunately a little of it goes a long way. The problem with seeing the world solely through Jake’s eyes is that reality and illusion blur, so sometimes the narrative gets muddy, and it’s hard to understand exactly what is happening in particular scenes. When Jake is one step away from falling apart, somehow the people around him don’t seem to suspect, and given the enormity of his emotional reaction, it’s hard to imagine that people would overlook his anxiety. No one speaks about it. They go through their lives as though everything is normal. And what is normal, anyway?

Ayarbe gives hints about the private lives of the other characters – Jake’s best friend Luc, his teammates, his pseudo-girlfriend. They all have their secrets. Luc’s father beat him, Tanya may be anorexic, a teammate may be gay, but these hidden worlds are much like Jake’s own efforts to mask his compulsion. He hopes that if he can create the perfect magic to win the soccer championship, all the spiders will disappear. But life doesn’t work that neatly.

The novel’s greatest impact is the glimpse of Jake’s internal life, but the storytelling suffers. Perhaps by giving the reader a little more time with pre-spider, pre-OCD Jake (before the anxieties becoming so overwhelming), Ayarbe could better set the foundation of the story and the relationships of the characters. Another possibility is to allow one of the other characters, such as Luc, tell some of the story so that the reader gets a broader view of events.
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Heidi Ayarbe's main character, Jake Martin, can be judged from the exterior in a similar way to most high school students: friend, son, jock, etc. But the interior of Jake's mind is the axis on which this story turns, for Jake's struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder literally turns his world into a frenzied labyrinth of habit and ritual, and his mind becomes his greatest enemy. The pacing of this novel, which spans only a few days and introduces readers to the complexities of Jake's family members and friends as well, heads irreversibly toward Saturday, the day of the big game that could change Jake's life forever. But can he hold it together long enough to get there? Awaiting the answer to this question is what drives the plot.

It is difficult for Jake to be on time to school, and he has been threatened by his coach that one more tardy will make him ineligible to play in his team's championship soccer game, scheduled for that weekend. Not only would his missing the game be a terrible loss for his teammates, who can't win without him, but college-level scouts will be at the game to watch him. And Jake is convinced that if he can get through Saturday, he will be released from his responsibilities to so many, including his own parents, and that somehow, his OCD will lose its grip on him as well.

His best friend, Luc, tries to look out for Jake, to ensure his attendance at school, at practices, in life, but his lack of understanding of Jake's illness--he isn't just quirky but sick--causes an interruption in Jake's schedule/ritual that nearly threatens his sanity, not just the big game.

However, I thought this book was really about the way people communicate in relationships--which is sometimes not at all--and how that silence can lead to tragic, unintended consequences. I don't know anyone in real life who is as inhibited by OCD as Jake is, and so I really appreciated the way Ayarbe showed the readers what the inside of his mind looks like. Although I know OCD affects people in highly personalized ways, I got Jake. And I cared about him and how he would be able to heal himself. Ayarbe's moral is that without kind, careful revealing--in communications with family and friends--he won't.

Ages 14 and up ( )

Too much profanity and it made me feel crazy to read it. ( )

As soon as I heard the premise of this story I know I would be picking it up as soon as possible. I'm always immediately drawn to books regarding mental illness and disorders and am fasinated by the feelings, emotions and behaviors surrounding them. Jake Martin is a high school senior, soccer player extrodinare, who is living with a secret. His life is consumed with his obsession and need for prime numbers. He feels that the prime numbers bring him magic, magic that not only protects his family but brings him luck on the soccer field as well, but these numbers also consume his life, if Jake can just make it through saturdays championship soccer game, he thinks the magic will stay with him forever, but will it, or will the numbers continue to consume his life?

I had a very hard time connecting to this story and the main character Jake, not because he was male, but just his character in general. Anyone who knows me knows i'm far from a numbers person, and I think maybe the overwhelming abudance of them make this book a bit taxing for me. Which some could argue may have been the point of the story, that in fact that's how Jake felt in regards to his OCD, but I had a hard time being able to connect.

I wish the story focused more on his disease, rather then him trying to keep it a secret, and I wish the ending resolved or came to a better conclusion, because in my opinion it felt like it was left uncomplete, and ended kinda-of abruptly. I did however find this book interesting in the respect that while I have read novels regarding OCD i've never read a book regarding OCD with regards to numbers, and I know thats very common in people with OCD, so I did get to see a whole nother side to the disease that i've never really delved into before.

I do think this book is worth picking up and giving a chance, and I do feel that a lot of guys would really enjoy this novel, The protaginist is male, and it deals with an athlete and issues I think a male would be able to relate to better then a female. ( )