So I started to consider numbers, prime, and how Jake could relate them to sports. All of his sentences had to have an odd number of words. A friend of mine’s son used to count words. As novelists, though, we get to use the mind! I was thinking about athletes and an athlete mentality. I guess it’s easier to address something like that visually. Most characters I’ve seen portrayed with OCD focus on germs, cleanliness, having everything perfectly organized etc. They don’t connect, though they both suffer.

He definitely doesn’t see himself mirrored in her, at all. Like Jake’s mom suffers from scrupulosity. So they can be unrecognizable to each other. Though the jury is out on whether anxiety disorders are hereditary or social, or, most likely, a combination of both, no two people deal with anxiety the same way. When I was researching OCD, so many different forms exist. Maybe he’ll even make a friend other than Luc.Īcclaimed author Heidi Ayarbe has created an honest and riveting portrait of a teen struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder in this breathtaking and courageous novel. His dad will stop treating him like he is some freak. Once the game is over, he won’t have to rely on his sister to concoct excuses for his odd rituals. Jake’s convinced the magic will be permanent after Saturday, the perfect day, when every prime has converged. But the magic is Jake’s prison, because sustaining it means his compulsions take over nearly every aspect of his life. It’s the magic that has every top soccer university recruiting Jake, the magic that keeps his family safe, and the magic that suppresses his anxiety attacks. With Jake on the field, Carson City High can’t lose because Jake has the magic: a self-created protection generated by his obsession with prime numbers. Saturday will be the third state soccer championship in a row for Jake Martin. I turn from the clock and walk into the hallway. One plus one is two plus four is six plus ten is sixteen minus one is fifteen minus two is thirteen.

Compulsion by heidi ayarbe