Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo

Chuck Taylor’s OCD has rendered him a high school outcast. His endless routines and habitual hand washing threaten to scare away both his closest friend and the amazing new girl in town. Sure he happens to share the name of the icon behind the coolest sneakers in the world, but even Chuck knows his bizarre system of wearing different color “Cons” depending on his mood is completely crazy.
            
In this hilariously candid debut novel from comedian Aaron Karo—who grew up with a few obsessions and compulsions of his own—very bad things are going to happen to Chuck. But maybe that’s a good thing. Because with graduation looming, Chuck finds himself with one last chance to face his inner demons, defend his best friend, and win over the girl of his dreams. No matter what happens, though, he’ll have to get his hands dirty.



My Thoughts/Review:

I liked this book, but it's maybe not something I'll be reading over and over. Who knows, I might. It might come back to me in a month or so. I liked the character of Chuck Taylor, because for all his OCD impulses and his weirdness, he was actually really funny. And in my mind, you just can't beat funny. Because funny is just the kingpin in YA literature. Funny. I would never have guessed that OCD was so serious. It's just insane how serious it is. It's like having anxiety attacks. Serious, right?

Chuck Taylor was really odd, but I found myself rooting for him just the same. Nothing in his life just ever seemed to go right, and once in a while, something should go right for everybody, no matter who they are, or what they've done. Chuck Taylor (I can't type Chuck without typing the entire thing. It just has a great ring to it.) was so out there and willing to try or say almost anything. He blurted out " You're pretty" to a girl in the middle of class. Could it get any worse than that? I 'spose it could, but it wouldn't be nearly as funny.

You know that your not going to be able to put a book down when the first sentence literally makes you laugh out loud. Because, really, how many books can you say have made you laugh immediately? Not many, probably. I've never read a book about an OCD character, and if this is the kind of stuff they do (choosing shoes based on moods, etc.) I'm really not sure I could handle very many of these kinds of books. So, all in all, I liked it, but I might never get back to it.

♠♠♠
Favorite Quote:My name is Chuck. I'm seventeen years old. And OCD be damned, I'm going camping.