Not As Crazy As I Seem

by George Harrar
$4.99
1

What do you do when a bottle of liquid hand-sanitizer lasts you only a week? Or how about when you realize that you’re unable to eat in the school cafeteria? (Too dirty.) Or sit on an office couch? (Ditto.) And is it a crime to have all of your shirts neatly lined up, color coded, and buttoned from top to bottom? What about alphabetized books? When does neatness become an obsession?
Preoccupied with orderliness, cleanliness, and warding off impending disaster through rituals, Devon Brown is concerned with all of the above and then some. Which is just fine by him, but his parents and therapist see his “tendencies” in a more negative light—especially when such compulsions land him in the middle of big trouble at his new high school.
In this compelling story of mistakes and recovery, with sensitivity and humor George Harrar examines the tensions and events that trigger Devon’s actions and ultimately set him on a journey to understand exactly what he’s so afraid of.


  • Format: eBook
  • ISBN-13/EAN: 9780547529554
  • ISBN-10: 0547529554
  • Pages: 208
  • Publication Date: 10/25/2004
  • Carton Quantity: 10

About the book

Devon Brown won’t eat in the school caf (a germ swamp). He covers his hands before opening doors, eats things in groups of four (his lucky number), and hangs up his shirts (with all their buttons buttoned) by color. Some kids say Devon’s crazy, but he knows better—these are the tricks that keep bad things from happening, and he can’t imagine giving them up. Devon calls it “controlling things.” His doctor calls it obsessive-compulsive disorder. When Devon starts at a new school, his compulsions start to get him in trouble, and before long he realizes that his only choice is to confront his behaviors and the events that trigger them. In a compelling story of growing up different, George Harrar introduces us to a boy who just might change the way we think about “crazy.”

About the author
George Harrar

George Harrar is the author of several novels and numerous short stories, one of which was chosen for the 1999 edition of The Best American Short Stories. Harrar lives in Wayland, Massachusetts, with his wife, Linda, a documentary filmmaker.