Toten, Teresa. The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B. New York: Delacorte Press, 2013.

Heroes can be found in the most unlikely places. Adam Ross is one such hero. He doesn’t always feel like one. He must constantly battle is obsessive compulsive disorder - the reason that he finds himself in group in room 13B in the first place. Some amazing things happen in this group. Adam falls in love. The perfect girl strolls right into that room and rocks his whole world. He makes it a mission to get better for her and that commitment sustains him, right to the point where he does the heroic thing and (spoiler alert) gives her up. His fellow members take on superhero identities and become superheroes to each other - walking up flights and flights of stairs because one of them fears the elevator; visiting a church together and finding their own individual kinds of comfort there ( priceless, those scenes at Adam’s church!). As Adam grows (both literally and figuratively) through group, his private life takes a somewhat dismal turn. His mom hoards; his step brother struggles with his own compulsions; his own symptoms seem to worsen. His journey is difficult to watch, but ultimately uplifting.

This book is not a brand new one, and I can’t honestly remember what led me to add it to a recent book order. I am, however, so glad that I did. On the heels of Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman and Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips, I am pleased to find another fresh, honest look at the impact of a kind of mental illness on a young adult. I am already dreaming up a book talk slide where I can highlight these amazing works. I am also always grateful to find male protagonists that are believable and appropriate and engaging. Adam is so hard on himself and lives in a bit of denial, but he is so compassionate to the people around him. He works so hard to do better. His flaws and failures just make him real and more relatable to my readers.

I was not familiar with Teresa Toten at all, so I headed on over to her website to see what other books she has out there - quite a few for me to explore. The site also includes a lovely biography that details her childhood wish to be a mermaid, and the rather twisty turny path that led her to be a writer. I love a good author website. While there, I discovered a teachers’ guide to this title. I will be mentioning this book to the psychology teacher here who expressed an interest in other fiction titles exploring mental issues. It will be nice to have the guide to share!