OCD, The Dude, and Me

A fearless neurodivergent protagonist takes center stage in this engaging and eye-opening young adult novel.

“Vaughn skillfully shows how making an actual friend . . . contribute to Danielle’s upturn. Her problems don’t go away, but her perspective on them and ability to cope shifts and improves.”—Publishers Weekly

“There are good books, and there are great books, and then there are books with characters you’ll never forget.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the first day she began at her alternative high school, Danielle Levine has obsessively chronicled the highs, lows, and really lows of teenage life in her “memoir,” a sacred color-coded, locked binder kept securely boxed under the bed wrapped in a pillowcase.

Determined that her senior year mark the major change she’s been waiting for, Danielle resolves to trade her Friday night reenactments of scenes from Jane Eyre (complete with puffy sleeves, petticoats, English accents, and her parents) for invitations to Friday night parties with the popular kids, including the object of her unrequited love.

Danielle fastidiously archives her experiences through essays, rants, journals, e-mails, and other written exchanges with an observant wit. In a year filled with the unexpected, including surprise friendships, a glorious feeling of self-acceptance, and a life-altering viewing of The Big Lebowski, Danielle realizes she may not be as alone as she thought.