Reviewed on my blog~ ( )

That was really...intense. I'll be sure to watch my language in future, because even if that is only a somewhat-accurate view of what it's like to live with OCD, I most certainly cannot claim to have it (even hyperbolically). I do know what extreme anxiety is like though, and that was uncannily (and uncomfortably) close to home. I will probably never be able to read this book again, but it was a pretty amazing story. I am super glad that the author didn't end the story on an impossibly optimistic note, with both Bea and Beck miraculously being cured. It was hopeful enough that I felt satisfied, but realistic enough that I wasn't pissed./spoiler> ( )

My first thoughts after reading this is this was an exhausting read. Told in the first person, we are immersed in the obsessions and compulsions ruling Bea's life. It is tiring reading her thoughts. It would be even worse living them. I don't have OCD, but to me, this seems like what I imagine it to be like. Bea is not exactly a likable character, but this was an intriguing look into her life. ( )

i thought this book did a very good portrayal of what it might be like to live with ocd. i don't have ocd, but i do have anxiety and i had a period where it was drifting off into ocd-like symptoms, and i related strongly to bea. both of the characters were very likable, and the romance wasn't nauseating like it is in most young adult novels. ( )

First off, if you're expecting a kinda-quirky, not-too-serious YA romance... this isn't it. That was sort of what I was expecting; I bought it when it was $1.99 on Kindle, and there weren't many reviews yet.

After reading the reviews--some from mental-health professionals and some from people with OCD--that talk about how accurate Bea's experience is, I'm a little concerned about my own mental health, because I could actually relate to much of her internal dialogue. I'm going to assume that's just an indication of Corey Ann Haydu's skill as a writer.

The story is good--no big plot twists or anything, but Bea's gradual awareness of what she's doing and how other people see her pulls you along.

The characters felt very real (with a couple of exceptions--more on that later). Lisha wasn't the usual best friend/sidekick character, and Beck wasn't the typical hunky boyfriend. Actually, I could hardly read about him at all, because he was just so... raw. I remember the guys who were really into bodybuilding in high school, and how they always seemed kind of uncomfortable, like their skin was too small; Beck is like that times three (thanks to the OCD, I guess).

I think it's a great book and an important one, but I'm docking it a star because the coincidences seem so forced. I understand that Bea sees patterns in life, and a coincidence to her is bigger than it is to most people, but the coincidence of having the boy she met in the dark end up in her therapy group is just too convenient. It's such a big coincidence that I can't imagine ANY teenage girl not seeing it as an omen of some sort. Her having happened to see the boy she had a crush on stab a guy with a bottle when she just happens to have been at the prison waiting for her mother who happens to be a prison guard was just completely unreal; for a while I thought maybe she had hallucinated it. And Austin and Sylvia being semi-famous (in a local way, anyway) was also just too convenient. It felt like the main reason for that was to make sure that they didn't freak out to find they had a stalker, because music people are apparently supposed to be used to that level of fan interaction. I really didn't buy Austin and Sylvia much at all, as a matter of fact. Is one of them independently wealthy? I don't remember if that was mentioned or not, but for them to afford their lifestyle--in Boston, no less--on the salaries of a couple of bar musicians really strains credibility.

Overall, I like the book a lot. I don't think it's too much for a teenager to deal with; at a young age I read a truly disturbing book called Listen to the Silence, along with classics like I Never Promised You a Rose Garden and even--in FIFTH GRADE--Sybil. I'm pretty sure that OCD Love Story is not only more accurate, but also just all-around better literature than the sensationalistic mental-health stories (fiction, non-fiction, or something in between) of my youth. I'm still thinking about it a week later, which is unusual for me with YA, no matter how good it is. ( )