Merry Wanderer of the Night:
event-Psychtember

Hey everyone! I have another guest post on Danya's blog for Psychtember!

Come check out what I thought of Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman!

I have another Guest Review up on Danya's awesome blog! Go check out what I thought about Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine!

So head on over and check it out!!:)

Hey all! I have another guest post going up today over at A Tapestry of Words! Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer. And let me tell you, I've got some strong thoughts on this one...

So, head on over to Danya's blog and check out the review! Let me know what you think! This is one I'd love to see some feedback on, because I'd love to see who else agrees with me, and who thinks I'm completely off base. (Note, right now, the link will take you to Danya's blog, since I'll be at work. But it should be updated with a direct link after I get home)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon is actually a reread for me. And it was just as good, if not better than the first.

It's a book about Christopher, a young boy trying to figure out life. Although I don't think the book ever directly specifies his disorder, Christopher falls somewhere on the high functioning side of the Autism Spectrum. He doesn't relate well to people, has a really hard time understanding facial expressions beyond happy and sad, does not do well with change or being touched, and is highly intelligent, especially proficient in math and science.

Watching the world through Christopher's eyes is so incredibly interesting, as is listening to his inner commentary. He is very matter of fact, likes dealing in absolute truths and doesn't understand emotion. When most people think of love, more than anything else, it's a feeling. It's nearly impossible to define, because everyone experiences it differently, and there are so many different kinds of love. But for Christopher, love is a very specific thing. For him, "loving someone is helping them when they get into trouble, and looking after them, and telling them the truth... " (pg 87)

Christopher's voice throughout the book is very unique. I've never read another book like it. Christopher does not like lies and he always tells the truth. Lies are just too complicated. He also doesn't understand social norms or nuances, which means we get some very interesting commentary, and Christopher points out many things that people would normally never say aloud. It's a book that made me chuckle to myself more than once. I feel a little bad laughing at it, because Christopher is not trying to be funny. But his deadpan delivery is just... funny. It's a little like watching someone fall down. You feel terrible because your impulse is to laugh, but there is just nothing you can do to stop it... It's awkwardly funny.

As a book in general, the story itself is not really that awesome. What makes the book worth reading is Christopher. He is the one writing the book, as an assignment for class, and he decides to write about something true, because he doesn't like lies. When he discovers his neighbor's dog dead in her yard, he decides to write a mystery and try to figure out who killed Wellington. He wants to write a mystery because it's the only kind of fiction he likes to read (fiction feels too much like lying).

Christopher lives with his dad, because his mom died a few years ago and his dad tries really hard to be what Christopher needs, to be able to help him and give him the best care and attention possible. It's obvious, that although he does make mistakes (some really big ones, actually) that he really and genuinely does care about his son. That kind of love, even if Christopher doesn't really get it, is strong and there are moments in the book where you can very nearly touch it.

There might be some inaccuracies here, in Haddon's portrayal of an autistic boy. I am not well enough studied to be able to tell you if it is perfectly accurate or not, although it does follow what I understand of the disorder. So, don't go using this as a way of saying — Yes. I now know all there is to know about life with autism. But do use it as a way to learn a little more about your world, and to learn a little bit about what it might be like to be living in a world not meant for people who think like you. It would be a challenge, every single day. So remember that. Take that into consideration. And maybe use this book as a reason to start paying more attention to your surroundings, to the people around you. Use it as a way to realize that there are different ways to view the world, different ways to see, but that doesn't make them right or wrong, just different.

This is a book that I highly, highly recommend. To pretty much everyone. There are things in this book that I think everyone could stand to learn, could benefit from taking a look at. So why don't you give it a try. It just might expand the way you view your world. And really, that's a good thing.

I think this might be the first time I've ever really and truly 'gotten my rant on' about a topic here on the blog. What's my topic? The current usage of OCD in YA Literature. So brace yourselves, because Ashley is about to get very angry.

(This is a big enough topic, and one that I've been thinking about long enough that I've actually decided to write two posts on this one — one here on Danya's blog, and then a longer, more detailed (and rantish) post here on my own blog.)

There is something that's been popping up in a lot of YA books recently that's really been getting on my nerves. I've wanted to write a post about it for a long time, and I decided that Danya's Psychtember was as good an excuse as I was ever going to get. I'm going to warn you right now (and again later, cuz I'm like that) that this is a very long, very angry rant post. All of my anger and frustration at what I perceive to be the usage and misrepresentation of OCD in YA literature has been laid out for you to see. If you want the condensed version (wimp: P) you can in my blog to visit Danya's blog where you'll be able to read my shorter post.

I don't know how many books need to be written for something to actually qualify as a 'trend' but I've been noticing something in YA lately that has me more than a little concerned. And that's the use of OCD. OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is a serious and debilitating mental illness. It can manifest itself in innumerable ways, and with varying levels of intensity or severity. I'm a little bit concerned that lately it's been made light of in YA literature.

What do I mean by this? Let me first explain what an OCD really is. A lot of people joke about having an OCD because they like to keep their desk organized, or have a specific order to the way they clean their room. But most people who are going to joke about an OCD not only do not have one, but they have no real understanding of what it is to live with an OCD either. An OCD is debilitating, it's severe and it's not something you can ignore when it's convenient. To be diagnosed with an OCD, you must have obsessions, which are persistent, irrational thoughts you can't control, that even though you recognize them as being irrational or inappropriate, you can't make them go away, can't talk yourself out of them, as well as compulsions, which are actions you use to overcome the obsessions. But even more than that, to be considered a diagnosable OCD, it must also be disruptive to your life. That means that an OCD isn't a minor annoyance or inconvenience. To have a legitimate OCD, it must be severe.

An OCD can manifest itself in hundreds or thousands of ways. The compulsions are what most people focus on our talk about in relation to OCD. The compulsions are things like washing hands, checking every door and window in the house 3 times before bed in a specific order, tapping the outside of a door twice before you can open it etc. and they are not something that can be avoided, forgotten or skipped. It's not like, Oh, I'm tired today, guess I'll just do it next time. It is something that must be done to control the obsessive thoughts. OCD is an anxiety disorder. And the anxiety a person would feel if they tried to forcibly pass on an OCD ritual?! Ain't gonna happen... If for some reason they did manage to fall asleep before completing their compulsive rituals, they would wake up, and not a pleasant waking up either, but one filled with stress and anxiety. But it's important that we not forget about the obsessions. Obsessions are thoughts that are irrational, and uncontrollable. These obsessive thoughts are what lead you to your compulsive actions. So, you might obsess over a feeling of being dirty, that for some reason you are dirty inside and out and these thoughts give you so much anxiety that to lessen the stress of these thoughts, you wash your hands. But it's a temporary relief, and the next time the thought comes, you wash again and again and again. It's not being paranoid that you left your car unlocked, so you go back to check. It's this thought that if you don't go back and check the car again, something unimaginably bad is going to happen. So you check again, even though you know you locked it before. And the obsessive thought isn't always logical, it doesn't always lead to a natural compulsion either. It might be that you believe that if you don't wash your hands every 30 minutes, someone will die. So, you know that this isn't true. You know no one is going to live or die because you washed your hands. But you have to wash your hands anyway. You have to.

So here's the thing that really gets me angry — OCD is a serious, debilitating, destructive and emotionally (and sometimes physically) exhausting disorder. But it's not always treated as such. People make light of it all the time, discussing it, laughing about it as if OCD is no big deal, just some minor annoyance. And a lot of the books I've read lately with OCD characters perpetuates this. These books are furthering the ignorance surrounding OCD. Warning — This next section is very possibly going to come across as very harsh & snarky & angry, but this is a rant, so deal...

I feel like some of these authors heads must have sat down and gone through a combination of the following ideas-
Hmm... My hero is super perfect. Like, he's gorgeous, rich, super nice, everyone loves him when they talk to him, etc... But, no one wants to read about a completely flawless boy... We get too much flack for that. Ooh!! I KNOW! I'll give him an OCD!! Then he's a perfectly flawed hero & I can still let him be perfect! Because an OCD is a flaw!! *fist pump

OR

I want this dude (or dudette) to have some kind of mental illness. But what to do? What to do?... It can't be something like schizophrenia, because everyone knows that's untreatable and like, serious and stuff... Depression is so last publishing season, everyone's been using that one and I don't want some sad chick. Hmm... Lets google this... Oooh, this looks promising! I'll give them an OCD!! PERFECT! They can be 'troubled' and struggle, but still have a mostly normal life. I love it. Aren't I so brilliant. *pats on back*

OR

Just add OCD & stir — Instant Character Depth!

Now, I'm actually pretty sure that none of these authors have ever actually sat down and thought this. (and I hope that I never find out if they have). But that doesn't change the fact that it seriously upsets me when I read these characters in a YA novel who have been given a legitimate and serious mental disorder being made to seem as if it's just not that big of a deal. Like it's something they can brush off or use to their advantage (*whines — It's just my OCD today. It's acting up). It is not like that. OCD is something that can be managed and stabilized and, depending on the type of OCD, the severity and the stressor that induced/triggered it, sometimes, it can even be cured (although, as with any mental illness, cure is a relative term...) . But it is not something that just gets to go away because you want it to, or because it's easier today to just not deal with it. It's a mental illness. And if you have it, you have it. And let me tell you — I know someone, in real life who struggled with this. And you know what, it sucks. Like, hard core. It's not fun, it's not something to laugh about and it doesn't give "depth". It's a DISORDER.

Sigh. But, I did warn you that this post was going to be long and rantish.

And, yes — I'm deliberately not naming names or pointing fingers. I deliberately decided against using specific titles because my annoyance with the usage of OCD in YA right now has made it so that some of these books that probably do a fine job of it lose me as soon as the love interest or main character has OCD. I'm not talking about books that have chosen to write about OCD specifically. I'm talking about books that deal with a different topic altogether, and use OCD as a side plot... But this post is an angry post. So I'm leaving titles and names out of the anger. But I gotta tell you, I'm getting might tired of it.

So authors, Please stop using psychological disorders as a way to add interest to a character. If it's a legitimate and important part of who they are, they Yes! PLEASE use it. We need more books dealing with mental health in a positive and accurate way. But, if you are going to use mental health, do NOT google search it and assume you are an expert. Take more time to research, talk to therapists and licensed mental health professionals. Talk to people who have the disorder. But more than anything else, treat it with respect.

Hey Guys! I just wanted to jump on to tell you to go check out my guest post over at A Tapestry of Words! I mentioned on the first that I was going to be guest posting as part of Danya's awesomely fantastic Psychtember event! It's already gotten off to a great start, and today, my post about Depression in YA is up! Go check it out, and let me and Danya know what you think!! (Click the italicized words below to see what I think!)

Depression in YA — A Psychtember Guest Post

As many of you know, my Bachelor's degree is in Psychology. It's a topic that's always fascinated me and I love reading books where mental health or psychological disorders play a large role, and labeling something a psychological thriller always peaks my interest.

So when Danya at A Tapestry of Words contacted me about a September event devoted to Psychology, I was thrilled! And so, here begins Psychtember!

The event will run the full month of September and Danya has awesome stuff planned for the entire month. I won't be posting Psychtember stuff everyday, but I will have reviews and posts on both my blog and Danya's. I'll post here anytime a post of mine goes up on Danya's blog, and I'll include a graphic in each of my posts here.

This is an event that I'm incredibly excited for, and I hope you will share my excitement! So, be on the look out for awesome Psychtember posts from me, and stop by Danya's blog to see it all happening there!