Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe

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From the back of the book:

Saturday will be the third state soccer champion­ship in a row for Jake Martin. Three. A good number. Prime. With Jake on the field, Carson City High can’t lose because Jake has the magic: a self-created protection generated by his obsession with prime numbers. It’s the magic that has every top soccer university recruiting Jake, the magic that keeps his family safe, and the magic that suppresses his anxiety attacks. But the magic is Jake’s prison, because sustaining it means his compulsions take over nearly every aspect of his life.

Jake’s convinced the magic will be permanent after Saturday, the perfect day, when every prime has converged. Once the game is over, he won’t have to rely on his sister to concoct excuses for his odd rituals. His dad will stop treating him like he is some freak. Maybe he’ll even make a friend other than Luc.

But what if the magic doesn’t stay?

What if the numbers never leave?

———–

As someone who has a growing distaste of math, I knew that reading a book about a teenager obsessed about numbers would be interesting. However, Jake’s obsession with numbers is unlike anything anyone experiences in a math class. It’s much more simplistic and a million times more intense. Imagine thoughts like this running through your head all day:

Seven thirty-two. Seven plus three is ten plus two is twelve minus seven is five. OK.

Prime numbers makes things okay, for awhile. Jake’s desperation to win the game in order to get rid of the numbers is similar to the way a drowning man would cling to a piece of driftwood. For him, it has to work; if it doesn’t, he’s not sure he’ll be able to cope. His desperation seeps through the entire novel and although it’s clear Jake needs help, I found myself caught up in wishing that the game would indeed simply make the numbers go away. The narration is convincing and gut-wrenching, while making one want to rush to the end to see Jake’s fate.

In this novel, secondary characters seem to shine. No one is wasted, and each character has a unique voice of his own. Luc, Mera, Jake’s parents, his sister- they all have their reasons. Jake’s home life is almost a character itself, and it serves as a reminder to never believe what appears on the surface.

Also the author of Freeze Frame and Compromised, Heidi Ayarbe’s latest tale is a tough and sometimes dark book. With it’s language and subject matter, it’s not something I’d recommend to most below the age of fourteen. However, Jake’s story is a powerful one through a debilitating disorder. The ending is not neat, and some questions are not completely answered. If you’re up for a book that will drag your emotions in and hold them ’til the last page, Compulsion may be just what you’re looking for.