While I was out-of-town last weekend, I had a lot of time on my hands because of the 12-hour car ride. I decided to read a book on my Kindle that I’ve been wanting to read for a while. As with most books I read, it is fiction, but this book is actually quite different from many I have talked about before. Instead of the usual sci-fi or fantasy, this book is more down-to-earth. I’m talking about OCDaniel (a very creative, yet slightly annoying name for a book) by Wesley King.
OCDaniel is about a teen named Daniel, who has OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), which drastically affects his life. He feels the need to do certain routines and gets “zaps” if he doesn’t do them right, in which case, he has to do it again. While many can identify this as OCD, Daniel actually doesn’t know that he has OCD, until later in the book. The plot of this book was pretty good. It wasn’t just about OCD, but it also focused on various elements of Daniel’s life as a teen. He has a murder mystery to solve, a football championship to win, a book to write, and he wants to do all of this while not revealing his OCD to anyone. I thought the plot was very intriguing, and I read the whole book (around 250 pages) in 2 days. What I appreciated more than the plot, though, is what Wesley King taught me about OCD. Wesley King, the author, actually has OCD and wrote this book to help people (with and without OCD) be more aware of it. Many people, who think they don’t have OCD or don’t know about it, do actually have OCD (the protagonist in this book is an example). Another problem, I believe, is after not having something a certain way, some people say “that’s my OCD” when in reality they don’t have OCD (I’m guilty of this). Frequently, I hear people do this, and it really bugs me because I know people who actually have OCD, and it can affect your life much more than just making you do one or two things a specific way.
This is a great book, and one that I highly recommend, especially to those who are diagnosed with OCD, think they might have OCD, or know someone with OCD. It will help you see that there are others in this world with OCD, and you are not alone. For those who don’t have OCD, this book will help you learn more about OCD so you can better understand people who have it. This book is great for ages 12+ (my dad even read this book and my mom wants to, so adults can definitely read it too). Take a look at this book on Amazon.