- Hardcover
- Publisher: Books for Young Readers (Aug 13 1957)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0805061142
- ISBN-13: 978-0805061147
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Of this story centering on a girl's struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder, PW said, "This energetic, enjoyable problem novel is a must-read for wordsmiths." Ages 10-14. (Jan.)n
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-Monica Devon is a perfectionist and a worrywart. Fellow students find her eccentric, and her mother is driven to despair by her excessively fastidious behavior, such as her need to transfer Styrofoam beads from one beanbag chair to another so that the chairs are evenly balanced. She chants the mantra "This does not count" to negate mistakes, and in times of stress, she constructs anagrams in her head. To shift her focus from daily worries, the 14-year-old creates a game called Multiple Choice, in which she fabricates a task for herself with four options to complete it. This self-destructive game takes over her life, causing her to lose her best friend and climaxing when the child for whom she is baby-sitting falls from a window and nearly loses his eye. Finally, in the wake of the near tragedy, her parents hear her cries for help. The history of Monica's problems is glossed over with brief mentions of her making herself ill studying for exams the previous year and spinning her lock three times before opening her locker. Monica's parents and teachers seem to accept or ignore her erratic and unusual behavior until disaster strikes. Anagrams and word games interrupt the flow of the narrative. Readers who are themselves compulsive may relate to Monica's dilemma. Those looking for a more realistic, detailed portrait of obsessive-compulsive behavior should read Terry Spencer Hesser's Kissing Doorknobs (Delacorte, 1998).
Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
~Underestimated~,
By Goneril (Northwest, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Multiple Choice (Library Binding)
Multiple Choice, by Janet Tashjian, explores (with creativity for critical readers) the world of O.C.D's, a problem many of us are not concerned with, but Tashjian MAKES us understand. We see in depth of it when Monica (our heroine) is desperate to make 2 bean bags the same weight (because apparently the blue bean bag has a teeny bit more stuffing than the red). Tashjian has dynamic anagrams, oxymorons, and word games. Monica is naturally talented in english, and in her head (!) creates wonderful word plays, juggling round letters in a word, to create another word. Her best friend, Lynn, tells her she's too obsessive, and Monica knows she's right. So, to compensate for her obsessive behaviour, she creates Multiple Choice. A game with four scrabble pieces (A, B, C, and D), in which when they're face down, Monica would then pick one randomly. B) Something just plain dumb. (Pajamas) You've got to read it, to see what happens. ^_^ Dare to read?
4.0 out of 5 stars
Multiple choice- should i read it?,
By A Customer
This review is from: Multiple Choice (Paperback)
Gosh- When I read about Monica's life it was strange. I loved the book, and that way that Tashjian writes it, she perfectly describes how monica is feeling, doing things in everyday life, and all of her thoughts. I loved how she just puts random things on pages such as:I'm the world (I'm on top of the world!) I thought that if anyone should read this book, that they should lend it to all of their friends, tell them about the book, and then they will be hooked.
3.0 out of 5 stars
C) Write a mediocre review of this book.,
This review is from: Multiple Choice (Hardcover)
I read Multiple Choice because I saw that it was by the same author who wrote Tru Confessions, which is a fabulous children's book that accurately portrays what it's like to live with a special needs sibling. This book is good, while not up to the quality of Tru Confessions. I did relate a lot to Monica because I obsess about being perfect and I love word games, especially jumbling letters up to make anagrams. So I enjoyed that aspect of it. Other parts, I wasn't sure about. It never specified the illness Monica had (which I think is one of the book's problems, even though Darcy "doesn't like to put a label on things"), but I would guess she's borderline OCD, or maybe has an anxiety disorder. The Multiple Choice game was a nice touch, showing how hard it is for her to make decisions. She doesn't need to anymore - she becomes an automaton, obeying the Scrabble pieces. However, I have to penalize a full star from this excellent book because it stopped short of examining Monica's disorder at the end and decided to be sappy and surround her with concerned, caring adults and a new best friend. And believe me, that doesn't happen too often, so it took away from the story's realism. The dialogue between Monica and her parents when they find out about Multiple Choice was cliched. Other than that, this is a good read, especially for young teenage girls and wordsmiths.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
