(The first chapter of this book references VOLCANOES!!! What more can I say. Did I tell you all my family and I spent Christmas Day watching SUPERVOLCANO? I know.)(Maybe I'll watch it again tonight.)I remember when Total Constant Order first came out--I was interested but wary. I love--probably not the right word--reading about OCD. I'm always interested in furthering my understanding of this totally complex and torturous disorder. But nothing annoys more more than poor portrayals of OCD in the mainstream media. Like, NOTHING. Now, I didn't get the impression that TCO would be like this but even the remotest possibility left me hemming and hawing for uhm, well, years, actually. WOW, how embarrassing to admit, but there it is. Don't be like me, everyone.This was a really really solid, GOOD book that unfolds at a leisurely pace but is a quick read, if that makes sense. I like Chappell's writing style a lot. There was something dreamy and artisty and fantastical about it and made for an interesting juxtaposition against the realities/harshness of Finn's obsessions and compulsions. From page one we are totally thrown into Finn's thought process, the OCD and it's intense. I like that about it. I think I read someone say that it was hard to be that far into the disorder, to read it, to follow it, but to me that's the novel's honesty! That's what makes it critical, especially in the face of so many craptastic looks at OCD out there that only glimpse at the surface of the disorder (or worse) use it for comic relief or a character quirk. If you aren't going to go there, I don't see the point and Chappell really & truly (and I think) fearlessly goes there. That's important.One thing that I really appreciated was that Chappell didn't skimp on the anxiety, how hard it is and how awful it feels to not follow through on a ritual when you're right in the thick of the thing. For some reason, going into TCO, I was expecting a bigger romantic arch between Thayer and Finn, and even though there was a tenderness and sweetness to their relationship, this isn't a book where dude saves girl from herself--THANK GOODNESS. They helped each other but I think the key to their success was themselves, on their own. I really really liked that about it. I like the way they drifted through the high school scene a pair, trying to make sense of it in the only ways they knew how, with all they had to contend with. Reading a lot about anti-depressants as "waterwings" (as Jeffrey Schwartz called them) for people with severe OCD, one thing I had to remind myself as I read was that this was Finn's journey--that her decision to not take the anti-depressants in the end was her own. At first that left me a little nervous, because I think when a character makes that kind of decision it's hard for the author not to look like they're coming down one side or the other but I think ultimately, Chappell balanced this nicely and as I got into the story my reservations about that melted away. I didn't feel preached at and it seemed fair, imo. FINALLY, the setting of this book was absolutely delicious. I have never been to Miami, but Chappell's portrayal of it, even from the eyes of less-than-loving it Finn, made me want to go there.I think lots of people should read this, not only if you have an interest in OCD, but also because it's good stuff.
Rhythm is the pulse of life. Everything has rhythm. The waves in the ocean, cars buzzing down the highway, the drip of the rain after a spring shower, the pencil scraping across our paper, even our own pulse in our ears, late at night when all should be quiet. Fin doesn’t know quiet. For her, the rhythm has become more than a beat, it’s an obsession. It’s good luck to turn a light on three times, the wrong number could be deadly. The roar of numbers in her head blocks the outside chaos. They offer comfort. Stability. She taps her seat three times. Someone touches her shoulder. She touches the opposite one. It’s about keeping life in balance. Control.Control is something Fin lost when her parents uttered those devastating words, “…this doesn’t mean we’re abandoning you or that we don’t love you anymore.” The D-word. Moving from a place she loves, to a place she doesn’t. Her mother copes by excessive cleaning. Fin copes by counting. Soon, Fin’s mother has her visiting Dr. Calaban. Fin meets Thayer who is also being treated by Dr. Calaban, but for ADD. Fin discovers there’s a name for what she’s feeling, OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She wonders if it’s hereditary as her mother rewashes the jeep Fin’s just finished washing. With the help of Thayer and Dr. Calaban, Fin rediscovers her love of something she’d lost along the way, something that will help calm the need for total constant order.TOTAL CONSTANT ORDER is a riveting first novel by debut author Crissa-Jean Chappell. I was sad to end the book because I wanted to spend more time with the characters. I kept trying to slow down as I read, to linger and enjoy, but it was impossible. Each chapter drove me forward to the next and the next until the final page. The characters were fresh and real. I know you’ll enjoy them as much as I did!
What do You think about Total Constant Order (2007)?
Total Constant Order allows the reader inside the life of Fin, an outcast teen whose head is not working quite right. Fin ends up seeing a psychiatrist is diagnosed with OCD and put on Paxil. Ironically it's another 'crazy' who helps her find her way. I found the authors descriptions of Fin's compulsions, mental musings and struggles very real. I feel like I have better understanding of what a person suffering from ODC might feel like, what an uncontrollable life might feel like after reading this beautifully written novel. I will highly recommend!
—Emily David
This ya novel takes you right into the mind of a teen girl with OCD as she struggles to ignore the compulsions that drive her and survive the halls of her unforgiving high school.I found the details of Frances' disorder both fascinating and tedious...a fitting description of OCD itself. Worth reading if you like the "odd girl out" type of story as I also liked the fact that her friendship with an equally strange and afflicted classmate, Thayer, blossomed into a deep friendship and not a romantic relationship as I expected it would.
—Jessie
Fin is the teen who is struggling with her need to constantly count and/or wash her hands. When she asks her parents about it, they don't get it. Fin is an outcast at her school with a group of girls tormenting her and a guy, Thayer, who acts out in school all the time with rants and shouts. When Fin sees a psychiatrist she finds out alot more about herself, her counting, her hand washing, and why she can now understand and cope with this behavior. Thayer also goes to the same doctor and they begin to hang out. Fin realizes she doesn't need to count with Thayer, but she is getting more and more angry with her mother. It is only through her anger and confronting her mother that Fin can help herself and Thayer. I loved the way the author really nailed Fin's agony, resentment and defiance in the face of her mother's controlling behavior. I also liked the way Fin gets Thayer and his differences. A must read for "different" teens, they have a voice and place in school and everyone should accept them for who they are.
—bjneary
