48th out of 98 books
—
143 voters
Total Constant Order
by
Crissa-Jean Chappell (Goodreads Author)
Fin can't stop counting. She's always heard a voice inside her head, ordering her to listen, but ever since she's moved to the Sunshine State and her parents split up, numbers thump like a metronome, rhythmically keeping things in control. When a new doctor introduces terms such as "clinical depression" and "OCD" and offers a prescription for medication, the chemical effec...more
Hardcover, 279 pages
Published
October 23rd 2007
by Katherine Tegen Books
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Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com
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 numb...more
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 numb...more
Fin knows that something is wrong, she just doesn’t know what. She can’t stop counting. Some of the teachers at her new school think she just isn’t paying attention, but Fin knows that maybe she’s paying too much attention--to everything. Her dad wants to be buddies with his new girlfriend. Her mother wants her to go to counseling. Her counselor wants her to take Paxil, but her mother doesn’t want her to take meds at all. Fin feels like she’s all alone--until she begins a “conversation” with a t...more
Fin is a high schooler with problems - beyond the fact that school is a drag and her parents' divorce means an estrangement with her father, Fin has come to recognize that her rituals and requirements for daily life are actually signs of OCD. It doesn't help that her mother (and grandmother, as we discover) also display symptoms of this condition. While at school Fin meets a guy named Thayer, a skater into tagging and pot (not necessarily in that order). But is he someone she can really trust? T...more
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 th...more
Fin knows that something is wrong, she just doesn't know what. She can't stop counting. Some of the teachers at her new school think she just isn't paying attention, but Fin knows that maybe she's paying too much attention—to everything. Her dad wants her to be buddies with his new girlfriend. Her mother wants her to go to counseling. Her counselor wants her to take Paxil, but her mother doesn't want her to take meds at all, so what's the point of counseling? Fin feels like she's all alone—until...more
(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...more
(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...more
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 be...more
Fin, a girl who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Thayer, a boy who has Attention Deficit Disorder. Fin can’t stop counting and trying to keep things in order, in her control. Thayer can’t stop paying attention to one thing. Shunned by normal society, Fin finds solace in Thayer, who finds nothing wrong with her.
The writing is bearable, but mostly terrible. Just take a look at the sentence structures. The male protagonist gets on my nerves just because he’s not the kind of guy who does things t...more
The writing is bearable, but mostly terrible. Just take a look at the sentence structures. The male protagonist gets on my nerves just because he’s not the kind of guy who does things t...more
Nov 08, 2007
Susan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of "problem" YA fiction, psych disorders, poetic prose
Recommended to Susan by:
harper teen
Refreshing to see this kind of poetic prose in YA literature. It's something that's sorely lacking, especially these days.
However, the book tries too hard to be "cool" and to hit an emotional chord with the reader.
From the review I wrote of the ARC in 2007:
With her first novel, Crissa-Jean Chappell joins a long tradition of young adult novelists writing about the experience of growing up with OCD. In my opinion, she handles it well. The language is wonderfully poetic and a delight to see in any...more
However, the book tries too hard to be "cool" and to hit an emotional chord with the reader.
From the review I wrote of the ARC in 2007:
With her first novel, Crissa-Jean Chappell joins a long tradition of young adult novelists writing about the experience of growing up with OCD. In my opinion, she handles it well. The language is wonderfully poetic and a delight to see in any...more
I read this book to understand more about OCD. It's a fictional book about a girl who has OCD and what she thinks/feels. I left feeling like I understood people with OCD a lot more and I also felt more sympathy for people who suffer from mental illness. I feel like a whole new world has been opened up to me in this area.
That said I didn't like the story at all. The one that saves her is a boy that has ADD and is always out there. He teaches her how to do graffiti and introduces her to pot to hel...more
That said I didn't like the story at all. The one that saves her is a boy that has ADD and is always out there. He teaches her how to do graffiti and introduces her to pot to hel...more
I really loved this book. I found it by accident and I'm glad I did. You actually feel like you are Fin, this book actually makes you remember what it was like in high school and you felt like you just didn't belong or you were the one kid that everyone thought was different and strange. From the first page I was captivated. Its just one of those books that you want to read over and over and you never tire of it.
I feel like I've read this before (by which I mean, I know I haven't). I am not saying this to be mean, but it's one of those ones that reads like an adult writing to sound like a teen. It's useful to have a novel about OCD for this age group, and I will keep it on my radar, but I was never not conscious of the fact that it felt like it was written *for* that reason.
Fin has OCD - she can't stop counting, it's the only thing that keeps her calm. Her parents have separated and she's moved to Florida from Vermont. Then she meets Thayer - a rule-bending boy who might help Fin as much as the therapist she starts to see.
Authentic voice. Somewhat tidy ending, but pretty realistic.
Authentic voice. Somewhat tidy ending, but pretty realistic.
I initially heard about this book from the author via Myspace. (Good marketing technique!) The subject matter piqued my interest, though the novel itself did not sustain my curiosity. I found Chappell's writing to be rushed and both teenage and adult characters to be inauthentic. (The dialogue between Fin and her mother bothered me, and Thayer's too-cool-for-school lingo grated on my nerves.) Even the chapter titles, I thought were forced. As for the resolution, it wasn't believable. Deep issues...more
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...more
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...more
Why do so many YA authors feel the need to be clever. Crissa-Jean Chappell shoves so much cleverness down the readers throat, seemingly for no reason because her character isn't clever at all. I was so excited to see a book about on OCD teen and how that would make an already rough time rougher. Instead I got Wah! Wah! Wah! People don't like me cause I'm wierd. I found a boy a like. Swoon! Wah! Gag! I can't believe I acutally finished it. Jesus. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible.
Fin can't stop counting. Voices in her head tell her if she doesn't, something terrible will happen. Although counting didn't stop her parents from getting a divorce. Now her dad has a new girlfriend and Fin is stuck with her mom, who seems to have some OCD tendencies as well. To top it all off, Fin is forced to go to therapy. But her life starts to change when she befriends Thayer, a boy in her class who sees the same therapist. Soon she is able to calm the voices and ignore teh need to count.
Meh. I felt underwhelmed by this book, especially reading it in conjunction with Not as Crazy as I Seem (by George Harrar). The stories were far too similar. Total Constant Order does differentiate itself by inserting a pointed message about Paxil and other pharmacological outcomes.
For anyone seeking similar YA books about compulsive behavior, I recommend Multiple Choice (Janet Tashjian) or Kissing Doorknobs (Terry Spencer Hesser).
For anyone seeking similar YA books about compulsive behavior, I recommend Multiple Choice (Janet Tashjian) or Kissing Doorknobs (Terry Spencer Hesser).
Ooooo, I really like this one. At first I couldn't decide if the author was writing a disjointed, flighty thing, or if she was being sort of brilliant by making the actual book OCD-like. By the end, I'm convinced that author was intentionally invoking the discomfort and awkwardness of OCD, so that it's affecting on lots of different levels. Very well done.
i was really looking forward to reading this and i have to say that i felt a little dissapointed with this one. the OCD and side effects from medication were very well written but i didnt like the way it was all 'resolved' when the girl got the guy. i much prefer cut by Patricia McCormick, if you are after real life teen issue type stuff.
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Crissa-Jean Chappell's debut YA novel, TOTAL CONSTANT ORDER (HarperTeen) is a Florida Book Award medalist, a VOYA "Perfect Ten," (starred review) and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Next up is NARC (Flux Books, summer 2012).
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