BUZZING by Samuel Sattin, illustrated by Rye Hickman
Little, Brown Ink (July 18, 2023)
From the Publisher:
A moving middle grade graphic novel about friendship, belonging, and learning to love yourself despite the voices in your head.
Isaac Itkin can’t get away from his thoughts.
As a lonely twelve-year-old kid with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), everything from studying to looking in the mirror becomes a battle between him and a swarm of unhelpful thoughts.
The strict therapy his mother insists on doesn’t seem to be working, but when a group of friends invites him to join their after-school role-playing game, the thoughts feel a little less loud, and the world feels a little brighter.
But Isaac’s therapist says that exposure to games can have negative effects on kids with OCD, and when his grades slip, his helicopter mother won’t let him play anymore. Now Isaac needs to find a way to prove to himself, to his mother, and to the world that the way to quiet the noise in his head may have been inside him all along.
I loved this book. I know a little bit about obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and some from what I’ve seen on TV or in movies. But this is the first time I’ve read about it in young people.
We get to see what the disorder is like from the inside and how it affects Isaac, the main character, his life, family, relationships and school. And how Isaac finds his own place in the world. He starts to understand that he’s not what his thoughts are telling him. Buzzed is about how he finds friends and activities/outlets and how they add to his well-being. His mom is about protecting him but doesn’t realize how his new friends make him healthier and happier. The mom and the sister also have their eyes opened to how stuck they are in the family dynamic and that it can change for the better. For anyone who feels different or weird – and that includes almost all of us – there is a community waiting for us. It’s just a matter of finding it.
Really well done.
