Compulsion
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- ¥2,000
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- ¥2,000
発行者による作品情報
Today has to be perfect.
Magic.
I look at the clock.
10:14 AM.
Ten fourteen. One plus one is two plus four is six plus ten is sixteen minus one is fifteen minus two is thirteen. OK.
I turn from the clock and walk into the hallway. "Ready."
Saturday will be the third state soccer championship in a row for Jake Martin. Three. A good number. Prime. 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. 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. But the magic is Jake's prison, because sustaining it means his compulsions take over nearly every aspect of his life.
Jake's convinced the magic will be permanent after Saturday, the perfect day, when every prime has converged. Once the game is over, he won't have to rely on his sister to concoct excuses for his odd rituals. His dad will stop treating him like he is some freak. Maybe he'll even make a friend other than Luc.
But what if the magic doesn't stay?
What if the numbers never leave?
Acclaimed author Heidi Ayarbe has created an honest and riveting portrait of a teen struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder in this breathtaking and courageous novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Maya s con-man father gets sent to federal prison, the scientifically minded 15-year-old decides to run away rather than face foster care. Nicole, a suicidal girl she meets at a group home, joins Maya as she travels from Nevada to Idaho to find an aunt she cannot even remember. As they sleep in abandoned buildings, face bullies, and scrounge for food, Maya searches for clues to her aunt s whereabouts from letters she wrote to her dead mother. Readers will quickly understand the difficulty of Maya s life on the streets, from the rats that crawl on her at night to failed attempts at shoplifting and seeing a friend get sick and die. There are warm moments, too, such as when she and her friends pretend to roast marshmallows under a starry sky, or when she finally admits that irritating-but-loyal Nicole has become her favorite person. Ayarbe s (Freeze Frame) characters sometimes strain credibility sweet Klondike, who has Tourette syndrome, never feels entirely authentic, for example. But the touching moments between Maya and Nicole will keep readers with them through their long journey. Ages 12 up.
