ARC
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B
Written by Teresa Toten
Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness
Published May 1st 2015
272 Pages
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
RATING ★★★★★
When Adam meets Robyn at a support group for kids coping with obsessive compulsive disorder, he is drawn to her almost before he can take a breath. He's determined to protect and defend her, to play Batman to her Robyn, whatever the cost. But when you're fourteen and the everyday problems of dealing with divorced parents and step siblings are supplemented by the challenges of OCD, it's hard to imagine yourself falling in love. How can you have a 'normal' relationship when your life is so fraught with problems? And that's not even to mention the small matter of those threatening letters Adam's mother has started to receive...
The young adult obsessive compulsive disorder group is a safe haven for teens, including Adam Ross. Then Robyn breezes in. She's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen and for the first time in his almost fifteen years, Adam has goals. To grow taller. To get well and to marry Robyn. In that particular order. Within the group the teens choose their own persona, each adopting an alter ego in a mixture of Marvel Avengers and Justice League characters. So when Robin chooses to become Robin, Adam feels the need to be her hero, her savior, and dubs himself Batman. Her Batman.
While the support group may provide an outlet for teens to share their illness, Adam's home life is anything but calm. His father having walked out seven years ago, now he has his own family and five year old son affectionately named Sweetie. While Adam's mother drowns in a sea of hoarding, their small house cluttered to the point of bursting. Adam is determined to reign in his compulsion, which includes tapping, counting and not being able to enter buildings, including his own. And as Adam and Robyn form a tentative friendship, he knows that she needs him and there's nothing he won't do to save her from her own illness, sacrificing his own in the process.
But by saving Robyn, Adam finds his own illness deteriorating and made worse by the threatening letters his mother hides. His step brother Sweetie is also ill, and the only person who can reason with the intelligent and aware five year old is Adam, expected to calm the boy down whenever he's called upon. Even with the support of his merry band of superheroes, Adam's illness is spiraling out of control. The letters arriving more frequently, his medication no longer working and now he's developing new symptoms, including not being able to access the threshold of his own house at all.
Something has to give. As Adam's friendship with Robyn develops into something more, he sees that Robyn doesn't need him anymore. She's well, and Adam's goal of bringing his illness under control is little more than a pipe dream. He needs to let Robyn go, he needs to now concentrate on his own recovery and to tell someone about the letters that threaten to derail his mother, before his illness swallows him whole.
While the support group may provide an outlet for teens to share their illness, Adam's home life is anything but calm. His father having walked out seven years ago, now he has his own family and five year old son affectionately named Sweetie. While Adam's mother drowns in a sea of hoarding, their small house cluttered to the point of bursting. Adam is determined to reign in his compulsion, which includes tapping, counting and not being able to enter buildings, including his own. And as Adam and Robyn form a tentative friendship, he knows that she needs him and there's nothing he won't do to save her from her own illness, sacrificing his own in the process.
But by saving Robyn, Adam finds his own illness deteriorating and made worse by the threatening letters his mother hides. His step brother Sweetie is also ill, and the only person who can reason with the intelligent and aware five year old is Adam, expected to calm the boy down whenever he's called upon. Even with the support of his merry band of superheroes, Adam's illness is spiraling out of control. The letters arriving more frequently, his medication no longer working and now he's developing new symptoms, including not being able to access the threshold of his own house at all.
Something has to give. As Adam's friendship with Robyn develops into something more, he sees that Robyn doesn't need him anymore. She's well, and Adam's goal of bringing his illness under control is little more than a pipe dream. He needs to let Robyn go, he needs to now concentrate on his own recovery and to tell someone about the letters that threaten to derail his mother, before his illness swallows him whole.
MY THOUGHTS
Adam Ross. Remember his name, because there is no doubt you'll fall in love with him.
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B is a beautiful, poignant and an incredibly playful read that's written with a loving hand, dealing with a very serious and very real issue of obsessive compulsive disorder. Almost fifteen year old Adam falls in love the moment Robyn breezes into the room. She also suffers from the same illness, and has just been released from a residential program and has joined the group to increase her chances of recovery. Each member has taken on a different persona of strength, with all but one choosing a superhero alter ego. So naturally Adam has become Batman, fiercely protective of Robyn, putting aside his own recovery in a selfless plight to save her.
Adam lives between his father's new home, with new wife and son. Wendell is five, affectionately called Sweetie and already displaying symptoms of anxiety and finds comfort in numbers. Sweetie is highly intelligent, but relies heavily upon his big brother for comfort. His mother is a hoarder, their home cluttered which only increases Adam's illness to cross the threshold. Although Adam is determined to battle his own illness, he never puts himself first. He takes on the grievances of those around him, including the disturbing and threatening letters his mother has been receiving. I felt fiercely protective of Adam, his tender personality of selflessness left me on tenterhooks, worried about his loving nature being taken advantage of. The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B was written with such care and a respect for those who suffer from this debilitating illness. I was drawn into Adam's world and read the book in it's entirety in almost one sitting. It was not only entertaining, but so incredibly engaging and left me emotionally exhausted.
THE VERDICT
Borrow, buy or beg for a copy. This isn't another young adult novel about teens dealing with illness, it's an experience. Where most novels in the genre usually veer towards showing the debilitating side of mental illness, The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B shows obsessive compulsive disorder in a new light. That suffering from a mental illness is more than a feeling of darkness, it's also about learning to ask for help and learning to live in the moment, whether you're Adam, Robyn or even Batman. It was simply perfection.
Red Queen
Red Queen Trilogy: Book One
Written by Victoria Aveyard
Fantasy, Dystopian
Expected Publication February 10th 2014
400 Pages
Thank you to Hachette Australia
This is a world divided by blood. Red or silver.The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen year old Red girl from the poverty stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance. Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart...
Soulprint
Written by Megan Miranda
Science Fiction, Survival
Expected Publication February 1st 2015
368 Pages
Thanks to Bloomsbury via Netgalley
With the science of soul fingerprinting a reality, Alina Chase has spent her entire life imprisoned for the crimes her past self committed. In an attempt to clear her name, Alina unintentionally trades one prison for another when she escapes, aided by a group of teens whose intentions and motivations are a mystery to her. As she gets to know one of the boys, sparks fly, and Alina believes she may finally be able to trust someone. But when she uncovers clues left behind from her past life that only she can decipher, secrets begin to unravel. Alina must figure out whether she’s more than the soul she inherited, or if she’s fated to repeat the past.
Talon (Talon: Book One)
Written by Julie Kagawa
Fantasy, Dragons
Expected Publication October 28th 2014
400 Pages
Thank you to Harlequin Australia and Netgalley
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: And nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all too human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: And what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.
Let's Get Lost
Written by Adi Alsaid
Contemporary, Road Trip
Published August 1st 2014
336 Pages
Thank you to Harlequin Teen Australia
Add to Goodreads
Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.
Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.
There's Hudson, a small town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And Bree, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday, and a few stolen goods along the way. Elliot believes in happy endings… Until his own life goes off script. And Sonia worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.
Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268 mile journey that she discovers the most important truth, sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.
On The Fence
Written by Kasie West
Published July 1st 2014
320 Pages
Thank you to Harper Collins Australia for the ARC
Add to Goodreads
She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…
Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chic boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets, she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.
Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.
The Taking
Written by Kimberly Derting
Published April 29th 2014
320 Pages
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen
When sixteen year old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed... Yet she hasn’t aged a day.
Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men.
Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken... And returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?
The Forever Song (Book of Eden: Book Three)
Written by Julie Kagawa
Expected Publication April 15th 2014
416 Pages
Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley
Vengeance will be hers. Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer. MONSTER
Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions, her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost, the last vampire free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.
In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
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