Book Review: Calvin by Martine Leavitt

Title: Calvin
Author: Martine Leavitt
Copy Obtained: Purchased

About the Book from Goodreads

As a child, Calvin felt an affinity with the comic book character from Bill Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes.

He was born on the day the last strip was published; his grandpa left a stuffed tiger named Hobbes in his crib, and he even had a best friend named Susie. Then Calvin’s mom washed Hobbes to death, Susie grew up beautiful and stopped talking to him, and Calvin pretty much forgot about the strip—until now. Now he is seventeen years old and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Hobbes is back, as a delusion, and Calvin can’t control him. Calvin decides that Watterson is the key to everything—if he would just make one more comic strip, but without Hobbes, Calvin would be cured. Calvin and Susie (is she real?) and Hobbes (he can’t be real, can he?) set out on a dangerous trek across frozen Lake Erie to track down Watterson.

One sentence review: An important look at mental illness - a window into understanding schizophrenia.

Best for readers who:  Want to learn more about mental illness or know someone with mental illness. 

Best Stick-with-You Image: The cars in the middle of that lake. That was amazing. 

Library Thoughts: Although it is clearly young adult, I will add it to my collection at the middle school.  There is nothing in that I think would concern parents. And I think it's an important topic to have for students who need it. 

This was a very quick read for me. I read it in one day. But an important read. I know very little about schizophrenia, so this book gave me some understanding that I was lacking before. I would like to know from someone with more experience how accurate a portrayal it is. My feeling is that it's pretty accurate, but I don't know for sure. 

I really liked Calvin. I felt for him, understood him and wanted him to be ok. His character really made schizophrenia real because he was a real kid in my mind. And because of that, I feel like I gained so much from his story. Sometimes I wanted to shake him, but I grew to understand that his actions were what he thought he should do in the state he was in. That was important for me to learn. What I really liked was that he was still a teenager. That made him so much more real to me. His feelings for Susie, his feelings about school - all of it typical teenage stuff. That was perfect. 

After this book, I hope to read more about mental illness.  If you have suggestions feel free to leave them!

I do need to add that I'm a HUGE Calvin and Hobbes fan, so that part of the book was so perfect for me. I understood it all!