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Description
Poised to lead his high-school soccer team to its third straight state championship, seventeen-year-old star player Jake Martin struggles to keep hidden his nearly debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder. The plot contains profanity.
Quick Summary
Jake Martin's got it all figured out on the surface he's the star player poised to lead his team to a third straight championship but underneath, he's battling an almost unbearable obsessive-compulsive disorder that he's desperate to keep secret. What makes this book really stick with you is watching Jake navigate the impossible tension between who everyone thinks he is and the exhausting reality of his daily struggles, all while trying not to let his team down. It's a solid pick for teens who like sports stories mixed with real, messy emotions, especially anyone who's ever dealt with anxiety or knows someone who has. Parents should know there's some profanity throughout, but it feels natural to the high-school setting rather than gratuitous. The book does a fantastic job of showing what living with OCD actually looks like beyond the stereotypes, making it both eye-opening and surprisingly funny in places. If you've ever read something like Speak or any book that tackles tough topics with humor and heart, you'll find a lot to love here.