by Samuel Sattin, illustrated by Rye Hickman
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Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work.
Content: There is mention of cartoon violence. It’s in the Middle-Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Isaac has just been diagnosed with OCD, which is manifest in the graphic novel as hovering, ever-present bees. His mother is pretty protective of him, and the way he’s coping with his new diagnosis, so when he asks to join a group of friends to play a Swamps & Sorcery game. Everything is fine until he fails a history test (and thereby the class) and his mother bans him from seeing his friends or playing the game. There is some growth – his older sister feels left out because Isaac gets a lot of attention due to his OCD and she learns to accept it. Additionally, his mother learns to be more trusting of Isaac. And he learns how to better manage the buzzing in his life.

I liked this one well enough. I think the best part of the book was the depiction of the OCD as the bees. I liked how they were always around, and Isaac had to learn to live with – and ignore – them. I liked the story and the interspersing of the Swamps & Sorcery game. The art was nice; there was some diversity – Isaac is Latinx, maybe? – and one of the characters was gender fluid. It’s not going to be my favorite this year, but it was a solid book.