*Due to the wonderful (Yeah Right) power outage here in NC this review is totally posting LATE*
Seventeen-year-old Danielle Levine is your typical high school teen-ager – if you count having OCD and ADHD as typical. Danielle’s “special” conditions lead her to a school for students with learning disabilities, and, even here, she struggles to fit in.
Seventeen-year-old Danielle Levine is your typical high school teen-ager – if you count having OCD and ADHD as typical. Danielle’s “special” conditions lead her to a school for students with learning disabilities, and, even here, she struggles to fit in.
How Danielle navigates her status as a “learning-challenged” teen pariah is told, with equal parts pain and hilarity, in Lauren Roedy Vaughn’s debut Young Adult novel, OCD, THE DUDE, AND ME, which Kirkus Review has hailed as a “must-read.”
Told through a mélange of Danielle’s class assignments, journal entries, emails, texts, and letters to the school psychiatrist, OCD, THE DUDE, AND ME chronicles Danielle’s efforts to fit into a world that, to her, can be as alien as a distant planet. Yet, Danielle will be recognizable to her readers, with her body-image issues, her crush on an unattainable boy, and her feelings of insecurity over the rigid social code of high school life.
Just as things seemingly couldn’t get worse for her, Danielle meets a new friend, Daniel, who turns her on to the Coen Brothers’ classic cult film THE BIG LEBOWSKI and its indelible main character, the ever-cool, ever abiding Dude. Daniel and Danielle end up going to the prom together and to Lebowski Fest, an annual event celebrating the Dude and his Buddha-like philosophy, which says that things will work out if you “abide.”
My Opinion
This has proven to be a very entertaining read.
Danielle is a wonderfully crafted character. She isn't so much fun but enjoyable. She's very witty.
I found myself reading page after page...the essays were in themself a coming to terms in Danielle's life, just brillant!
I am a full "Team Daniel", Jacob can SUCK IT!
I loved what Daniel did for Danielle's self worth.
The Lebowski fest did have me laughing. I really loved the priest part. (You'll have to read the book to understand that...LOL)
The whole story is by far well constructed, the characters are what you would think senior high school students would in fact be, and the ending, well yea.
A great and I mean GREAT read for any young adult. I would see any young person learning a lot about their own self by reading these page.
Well Done Lauren Roedy Vaughn!!!!
This has proven to be a very entertaining read.
Danielle is a wonderfully crafted character. She isn't so much fun but enjoyable. She's very witty.
I found myself reading page after page...the essays were in themself a coming to terms in Danielle's life, just brillant!
I am a full "Team Daniel", Jacob can SUCK IT!
I loved what Daniel did for Danielle's self worth.
The Lebowski fest did have me laughing. I really loved the priest part. (You'll have to read the book to understand that...LOL)
The whole story is by far well constructed, the characters are what you would think senior high school students would in fact be, and the ending, well yea.
A great and I mean GREAT read for any young adult. I would see any young person learning a lot about their own self by reading these page.
Well Done Lauren Roedy Vaughn!!!!
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AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND | BOOKPASSAGE
About the Author
Ms. Vaughn is especially equipped to write Danielle’s story. She has been a special education teacher and a writer for nearly 20 years. In 2005, she received the Walk of Hearts Teaching Award, and she serves on the Board of the International Dyslexia Association’s Los Angeles Branch. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, when she was in elementary school. She came to California for college, met her husband at the University of California, Irvine, and they have lived in Southern California ever since. Together, they share a love of The Big Lebowski. When not teaching, reading, or writing, Lauren is usually on a yoga mat.
Her latest book is the contemporary humorous young adult fiction, OCD, the Dude & Me.
You can visit Lauren Roedy Vaughn’s website at www.laurenroedyvaughn.com
*Disclosure of Material Connection:No payment was received by me in exchange for reviews. There was no obligation to write positive reviews. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of these reviews. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising*
The cover really grabbed me. I enjoyed reading your review, I might check this book out. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you had to deal with a power outage. Arg. I hope all is back in working order and not too many perishable items were lost. Thank you for taking the time to read and review my book. Happy reading and blogging to you!
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