The unlikely hero of room 13B

Format:

Book (regular print)

Title:

The unlikely hero of room 13B

Other title(s):

Unlikely hero of room thirteen B

Author:

Toten, Teresa, 1955- author.

ISBN:

9780553507867

9780553507874

9781518116230

9780605855274

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Publication:

New York : Delacorte Press, 2015.

Physical Description:

289 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

"Originally published in paperback by Doubleday Canada, Toronto, Ontario, in 2013."

Summary:

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 list - September 12. Adam Spencer Ross. Meds: Anafranil 25 mg 1 x per day. Ativan as needed 4-6 per week. Primary presenting compulsions: Ordering, Counting, Magical Thinking. re: Clearing rituals. 1. I believe that I fell in love with Robyn Plummer last Monday. This feeling is extremely uncomfortable. I would stop it if I could. 2. I believe that I should have been allowed to skip grade 4. I would be in grade 11 now and my entire life would be different. Better. Somehow. 3. I believe that playing Warhammer games all these years with Stones (Ben Stone) has probably kept both our heads above water, but just barely. 4. I believe that my four- year-old half brother, Sweetie, loves me more than all the adults in our lives put together. This does not stop him from being a considerable pain. 5. I believe that Group is mucho weirdo (except for Robyn). I can't see how it's going to help anything, but the superhero stuff is not half bad. -- From dust jacket.

Reading Level:

HL620L lexile.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader AR MG+ 4.6 9.0 171740.

Accelerated Reader MG+ 4.6 9.0.

Reading Counts 6-8 4.5 16.

Accelerated Reader AR 4.6 9.0 171740.

Accelerated Reader/Renaissance Learning MG+ 4.6 9.0 171740.

Subject(s):

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in adolescence -- Juvenile fiction.

Dating (Social customs) -- Juvenile fiction.

Emotional problems of teenagers -- Juvenile fiction.

Dysfunctional families -- Juvenile fiction.

Self-help groups -- Juvenile fiction.

High schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Threats -- Juvenile fiction.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder -- Fiction

Emotional problems -- Fiction

Dating (Social customs) -- Fiction

Family problems -- Fiction

High schools -- Fiction

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	YA TOTEN	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Filled with moments of deep emotion and unexpected humor, this understated and wise novel explores the complexities of living with OCD and offers the prospect of hope, happiness and healing. Perfect for readers who love Eleanor & Park and All the Bright Places.

ADAM'S GOALS:
Grow immediately.
Find courage.
Keep courage.
Get normal.
Marry Robyn Plummer.

The instant Adam Spencer Ross meets Robyn Plummer in his Young Adult OCD Support Group, he is hopelessly, desperately drawn to her. Robyn has an hypnotic voice, blue eyes the shade of an angry sky, and ravishing beauty that makes Adam's insides ache. She's also just been released from a residential psychiatric program--the kind for the worst, most difficult-to-cure cases; the kind that Adam and his fellow support group members will do anything to avoid joining.

Adam immediately knows that he has to save Robyn, must save Robyn, or die trying. But is it really Robyn who needs rescuing? And is it possible to have a normal relationship when your life is anything but?

Select praise for The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B :

". . . achingly authentic. Like Augustus Waters before him, Adam Spencer Ross will renew your faith in real-life superheroes and shatter your heart in equal measures." -- Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"This book made me laugh, cry, think, and kept me coming back for more." -- The Guardian

"Adam is a protagonist that readers will root for." -- VOYA

"Honest, fresh, and funny . . . Toten employs information about OCD like grace notes in this deft and compelling narrative." -- Booklist

"Adam is a fresh and complex character, and far more than the sum of his symptoms." -- Publishers Weekly

Author Notes

TERESA TOTEN won the ALA Schneider Family Book Award and Canada's Governor General's Literary Award for The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B. She is also the author of the acclaimed Blondes series, as well as The Game , The Onlyhouse, and, with Eric Walters, The Taming . Her upcoming novel, Beware That Girl , is a psychological thriller (Delacorte Press/May 2016). Teresa Toten lives in Toronto.

Visit her online at teresatoten.com and on Facebook, and follow @TTotenAuthor on Twitter.

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up-Fifteen-year-old Adam's life is a melting pot of teenage angst, as he balances his commitment to his divorced parents, his mother's (ultimately destructive) secret, and his escalating obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The pot gets stirred when Robyn Plummer enters room 13B and the Young Adult OCD Support Group; Adam falls flat-out in love. Adam, "the horse whisperer of Group," feels compelled to save everyone who enters his life, which tends to accelerate his OCD tendencies, including counting and tapping and difficulty crossing thresholds. Yet in order to save others, he must first save himself. Toten's no-holds-barred novel is seamlessly woven and describes the insecurities and obstacles experienced by those held in the grip of OCD, as well as their courage, and hope. Narrator Jonathan McClain is fabulous voicing the eclectic cast, but he perfectly captures Adam's voice, especially the silent thoughts that zip through our hero's frazzled mind. VERDICT A must-have.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

When 14-year-old Adam Spencer Ross falls for a girl named Robyn Plummer, who attends his OCD support group, it provides him with an instant inspiration to try to become "normal." Despite medicine and therapy, Adam struggles with compulsive rituals and anxieties, particularly concerning his mother, who is acting increasingly strange herself. Adam's internal monologues, which include interwoven lists of his beliefs and worries, are intense and realistic ("I believe that I am unclean and will harm those I care about the most and that there is too much noise in my head and that I am so goddamned tired"). While the book offers an unflinching look at mental illness, Toten's (The Onlyhouse) characters are also able to see humor in their darkest moments. Adam's path to accepting ownership over his health is filled with pain and false starts that are highly personal; as a result, Adam is a fresh and complex character, and far more than the sum of his symptoms. Winner of the 2013 Governor General's Award for children's text. Ages 12-up. Agent: Marie Campbell, Transatlantic Agency. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

Fifteen-year-old Adam falls for Robyn in his teen OCD therapy group. Adam's insightful, steadfast support helps Robyn (and several other groupmates) improve--but Adam actually seems to get worse. While the tone is light overall (superhero group names!), there are plenty of touching, even wrenching, moments as Adam struggles to accept his own limitations and those of his loved ones. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

What would it feel like to wake up normal? It's a question most people would never have cause to askand the one 14-year-old Adam Spencer Ross longs to have answered. Life is already complicated enough for Adam, but when Robyn Plummer joins the Young Adult OCD Support Group in room 13B, Adam falls fast and hard. Having long assumed the role of protector to those he loves, Adam immediately knows that he must do everything he can to save her. The trouble is, Robyn isn't the one who needs saving. Adam's desperate need to protect everyone he loveshis broken mother, a younger half brother with OCD tendencies, and the entire motley crew of Room 13Bnearly costs him everything. Adam's first-person account of his struggle to cope with the debilitating symptoms of OCD while navigating the complexities of everyday teen life is achingly authentic. Much like Adam, readers will have to remind themselves to breathe as he performs his ever worsening OCD rituals. Yet Toten does a masterful job bringing Adam to life without ever allowing him to become a one-dimensional poster boy for a teen suffering from mental illness. Readers be warned: Like Augustus Waters before him, Adam Spencer Ross will renew your faith in real-life superheroes and shatter your heart in equal measure. (Fiction. 12 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Two teens with OCD try to have a normal relationship in this honest, fresh, and funny novel. Adam Spencer Harris falls in love with Robyn Plummer, the new member of his therapy group for young adults with OCD. When the group members choose superhero names and Robyn picks Robin, who else can Adam be but Batman? A friendship, then more, springs up between Adam and Robyn, but as they become closer, Adam's rituals begin intensifying. In addition, his mother's compulsive hoarding, the vile anonymous letters she has been receiving, and Adam's role as the one to assuage his little half brother's anxieties put more stress on him. Ultimately, Adam is perceptive enough to realize that he is jeopardizing not only Robyn's recovery but also his own. Adam is impressively drawn: smart, sensitive, and neither helpless nor hopeless. He is supported by a vivid cast of well-rounded, believable characters, from his group members to the assorted adults in his life. Toten employs information about OCD like grace notes in this deft and compelling narrative.--Scanlon, Donna Copyright 2015 Booklist