Chick: Lister

Series: Orca Currents
Publication Date: 30 Jun. 2021
Format: Paperback / softback

ISBN 9781459828223

    21.95 21.95 21.95 AUD

    21.95

    Option not available

    This combination does not exist.

    Add to Cart


    Chick is a popular 14-year-old who is essentially on this earth to live up to his father’s impossible expectations—or, at least, that’s how he feels. This pressure is a grinding source of anxiety for him, which he copes with by making lists. He itemizes every aspect of his life, from his daily routine to the things that make him nervous. 

    But as the pressure of school and his budding romance with his debating teammate Audrey builds, his compulsion starts to feel impossible to control—or conceal.

    Information

    Book Type: Junior High
    Age Group: 13 Years +
    Traffic Lights: Green/Amber
    Class Novel: No
    Good Reads Rating: 5/5
    Literary Rating: 5/5

    Review

    Tadeusz Yosef Goldstein, a Jewish teen known as ‘Chick’, suffers from severe anxiety that causes him to compulsively write lists about anything and everything. Coupled with his dad’s incredibly high expectations for his eldest son—which Chick never seems able to fulfill—this anxiety makes his life very difficult. 


    Chick manages to ask his crush, Audrey, to a study ‘date’ after school. But his list writing gets the better of him, leading to a series of uncomfortable experiences. Things come to a head when Audrey, trying to give Chick her phone number after he dropped it in an anxiety-fuelled fumble, stumbles on his extensive collection of lists from over the years.


    Thankfully, Audrey is very understanding of Chick’s plight. The two become quite close, with Chick grateful to finally have someone to confide in. By the end of the book, Chick finally manages to speak up to his dad and express his own wishes and dreams. Father and son set off down a much-needed path of communication and reconciliation.


    This is a wonderfully relatable and relevant story about how stress and anxiety affect teens. Chick’s anxiety and ‘listing’ compulsions are portrayed with a very real sense of desperation, drawing readers into his mind and helping them understand what such conditions can feel like. The story also delves into the troubled dynamic between Chick and his dad, offering valuable insights into family expectations and the importance of following your own dreams, not just the dreams that others foist upon you.

    Themes

    Anxiety, OCD, writing lists, family, family expectations, difficult family relationships, soccer, debating

    Content Notes

    1. A major focus of the story is Chick’s desire to have a romantic relationship with his crush, Audrey, and then their subsequent relationship when they start dating at the end of the story. He talks about wanting to kiss Audrey several times (p. 43, 78), makes a list entry saying, ‘do you think about us naked’ (p. 78), and the two characters kiss (p. 108). 2. Language: anus (p. 1, 3), ‘one-handed fun’ (p. 10), ‘boobs’ (p. 68).