"OCD Love Story"

Corey Ann Haydu is a young adult novelist currently living in Brooklyn, New York.

She applied the Page 69 Test to OCD Love Story, her first novel, and reported the following:

Page 69 in OCD Love Story is maybe not as tense as much of the book is, but I think it gives a perfect glimpse into the relationship that Bea and Beck are growing. It’s a mix of awkwardness and comfort. A balancing act between their compulsions and their desire to get to know each other.

Bea says of Beck:

He’s like two different people—small and scared and sweet one moment and walled off and rude the next. But I have a feeling once we’re in the Volvo listening to the National and watching the gas hover between full and mostly full (the only two options in my car), he’ll be the sweet guy again.

And as they settle into the moment, and grow used to each other’s presence, Bea and Beck learn that simply being near each other can be calming. Bea has a hard time being quiet and still, but Beck brings out a new, unexpected side of her:

It’s quiet, the waiting. Or we’re quiet. But it’s nice, sharing the same air, and we are both bundled up in coats and scarves and mittens and hats.

I love Bea and Beck in these moments. Because they are trying so hard. Sometimes the trying doesn’t work, sometimes it isn’t enough. But on page 69, I think we see that there is tenderness and compassion between them. And sometimes, not always, that is enough. At least for a page.

Learn more about the book and author at Corey Ann Haydu's website.

--Marshal Zeringue