Imagine… you are a newly single mom with three sons.  All your boys are wonderful and your son Sammy who just completed 5th grade has been told by his teacher that he scores higher in math skills then she has ever seen. 

Then that summer before 6th grade right after a move into a new home, Sammy starts some strange behavior.  He refuses to use the bathroom in the house and wants to only go outside to do his bathroom “business”, he also refuses to touch door knobs, and picks up things like silverware and phones with a kleenex over his hand.  Sammy slithers against walls, climbs over invisible obstacles, eats and walks with his eyes shut, hops to and from the car, has outbursts for no reason, refuses to bathe, and overall seems to be slipping into madness.

At first Beth Maloney, Sam’s mother, feels it is stress related due to her recent divorce from the boys father as well as the newness and/or strangeness of the new home.  But Sammy continues to get worse, unable to visit friends, go to school when it starts, or be left unattended.  Beth feels she is going crazy, missing work and visiting dr after dr as they diagnose Sammy with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) PANDA’s and even tourettes.  Later, Sammy gets to the point where he is unable to climb stairs and needs 20 – 40 minutes to get in or out of a vehicle.

This book is the true story of Beth’s undieing strength to find out what was wrong with her son, traveling to many doctor, trying many different options for cures, refusing to let go until her boy was brought back to who he once was. 

Why did I want to read this book?  I enjoy books about triumph over all odds and this subject matter interests me.  My own son in 4th grade was told by his teacher that he had ADD.  Being a young mom and having no resources to assist me, I agreed to put our son on the ADD medicine.  I remember that school year being a battle as the pills had to be taken at noon but they had to remain in the main office.  My son would continuously forget to go at noon to take his pill and then the office would refuse to give it to him because he did not come at the right time even though forgetfulness is a side affect of ADD.  *sigh*  Once summer came, I took our son off the medicine because it gave him headaches and told him we would see if a teacher said anything in the fall when he started middle school.  No one ever said that he had ADD again.

I did not mean to listen to this audio book now.  Ok, that sounds harsh, but in fact it is a cool thing.  What I mean is last week while mowing the lawn my last audio book ended.  The only book I had on my IPOD that I had not listened to yet was this one.  I felt I was not in the mood for a non fiction read but felt I could listen to it until I was done mowing for the day.  I instantly found myself engaged in the story line.  I did not know behavior could change so quickly and I gave Beth a lot of credit for handling it as well as she did.  (She admits to coming near to snapping a couple times but really – who wouldnt?)

Sammy’s story is truly incredible.  The narrator, Tavia Gilbert did a nice job of reading from Beth’s perspective.  She read with such intensity and passion that I had to check to make sure Beth was not reading this herself! 

I would think that anyone who has a child who has been diagnosed with OCD could relate well to this book – to Beth’s celebration of the small triumphs and the sheer downfall when habits returned after feeling it may be over. 

Goodreads Review

Anastasia’s Secret

I am personally fascinated by the Romanova’s and wonder if

I may enjoy this one more than Camryn as I love Historical Fiction!

~Sheila

Anastasia’s Secret is a book written by Susanne Dunlap. Anastasia Romanova is the daughter of the very last Russian tsar during the first World War. Anastasia’s family is used to a quiet existence, with occasional outings outside the palace. But when the revolution that builds up to World War one begins, her quiet, sheltered life with her family is torn apart. Her sisters, Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, her brother Alexei, her mother Alexandra and father Nicholas are all forced to move from palace to palace, under heavy guard, to stay out of harm’s way. Anastasia is always with her best friend, the boy she loves, Sasha. Sasha is a sympathetic young guard she met when she was just twelve years old. Their bond is strong, and he helps her in every way he can without drawing attention to himself. But, as the uprisings happen more and more often, will Anastasia’s family make it through the war? Or will they become yet more casualties?

I thought this book was….okay. It was slow moving, and at parts a little dull. I did like the way the author really portrayed Anastasia’s pain throughout the book; I felt like I understood her. The ending is really sad, and abrupt. But, you can’t change history. I read the epilogue, and I advise you to read it as well. It gives you a little more detail about what happened to Anastasia and her family. I would recommend this to anyone who like historical fiction.

Camryn is 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.