Read this when
Every Last Word
For the one who has to seem fine to keep her friends. Real ones make room for your weird brain. 📝
Who it's for
Sam's first-person narration shows the constant effort of hiding intrusive thoughts and rituals from friends who value image above all, which validates readers who mask anxiety or OCD at school.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Every Last Word is a 2015 young adult novel by Tamara Ireland Stone. Samantha McAllister is a popular high school junior who hides her Purely-Obsessional OCD, with its intrusive thoughts and rituals, from her image-conscious friend group, the Crazy Eights, while working on it with her therapist, Sue.
Where to find it
In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla, where held) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.
Before you start
Heads up: A teen's suicide.
Age: Ages 14+
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2
