Bibliographic Information
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publication year: 2014
ISBN: 978-1606845707
Reader’s Annotation
Following a traumatic incident she cannot remember, Callie is afflicted with graphomania, the intense compulsion to write. In order to cure her psychological condition she has to find her missing father and the girl he kidnapped one year ago.
Plot Summary
A year ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment writing endlessly on the walls. Following a traumatic incident she cannot remember, Callie has developed graphomania. Her condition forces her to write the words spilling from her head anytime, anywhere, on anything including her own skin. In order to get better, Callie has to find her missing father and Hannah, the girl he seems to have kidnapped on the same night Callie was found. With the help of her foster sister and sometimes-boyfriend, Callie tries to find Hannah and quiet the words in her head bursting to escape.
Critical Evaluation
Dawn’s novel is set apart from other young adult novels because of her realistic representation of mental illness. Graphomania is not a widely known and understood disease, so Dawn is forced to explain the compulsion in depth while not deviating from the story told from Callie’s troubled point of view. Using the character of John to explain Callie’s compulsion in depth to someone who has never heard of it is a useful device, if not a new expositional technique. The story arc vacillates between moving quickly and dragging. The pace of the story picks up and becomes exciting when Callie has an attack of graphomania, among other times. The pace slows to a crawl at other instances, like scenes between Callie and her foster sister. These scenes are obviously for expositional purposes and pull the reader out of the flow of the story to explain something the author would rather tell than show. Aside from inconsistent pacing, Oblivion effectively draws the reader into Callie’s terrifying mystery.
Author Information
The story begins when I'm seven years old, living in a haunted house. I don't sleep. I'm afraid, and I'm seven. Would YOU risk falling asleep amidst the spirits of the night? One thing I know I shouldn't do is wake Mom. The woman is exhausted all the time. Besides, if I tell her of the hauntings--the whispering, the pulling on my hair, the tickling of my toes--she won't believe me. "Chalk it up to her wild imagination," she'll mumble to my father, who is somewhat of an apparition himself.
My brother, who is about four, walks the hallways at night in a daze, sleepwalking. Sometimes, if I drift off, I wake up to find him staring down at me. It's another reason I don't sleep. He's cute, but creepy. I wonder if the entities in this house influence him to rise out of bed every night.
My sister sprawls on the twin bed on the other side of the room. The spirits don't bother her. I wish they would, and not just because she's somewhat of a nine-year-old tyrant, but because if she experiences it, she'll believe me. She's a good person to have on your side, if you know what I mean.
Tonight, I've already walked my brother back to his room, and I'm trembling beneath the covers when I hear it: "Psst! Sasha! Go into the closet!" They're snickering at me, yanking at my toes. It's nearly 3 a.m. I'm tired, and I want it to stop. I have much to do in second grade tomorrow. So I do the unthinkable. Walk into the closet. Sit on the floor. Wait for something to happen. NOTHING happens. But they're silent at last. When I look up, I see a notebook and a pencil waiting for me on a shelf. I take it down and start to write. I haven't stopped since…
Source: http://www.sashadawn.com/
Genre
Fiction
Mystery
Curriculum Ties
Psychology
Booktalking Ideas
Speak briefly on compulsions and mental illness, and how these can sometimes come on suddenly in response to trauma, then introduce the character of Callie. Read a passage from the beginning of the book that explains her graphomania to get the audience curious about her condition and the mystery that the story follows. Then give a rating from 1-5 and tell the audience why this is my rating, and take questions.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Booklist: Grades 9-12
School Library Journal: Grade 10 and up
Challenging Issues
Depression
Language
Mental Illness
Running Away
Self-Injury
Sexual Content and/or Nudity
Preparing for Potential Challenges
http://jeselynsminiyacollection.blogspot.com/p/preparing-for-potential-challenges.html
Why the Item Was Chosen
I came across this book by accident at the bookstore two years ago. I was drawn in by the cover image of a girl’s face covered with red, handwritten words. After reading the cryptic synopsis on the back, I was hooked and had to buy it. I believe the young adult patrons in my library will be equally drawn in by these things and it would be checked out and read often. Popular books with well-known authors yield a large number of readers, but so do unknowns when they are exciting, riveting, and promoted correctly. If this book were displayed prominently in the young adult section of a library, it would be circulated often and enjoyed by many teenage patrons. I have included it in my collection because although Dawn is not a popular author like John Green and Oblivion is not as ubiquitous as some young adult titles, I think it has the potential to be in high demand in my library.
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