September Pick of the Month: Beyond The Surface Book Club

Last month a fellow blogger named Indy and I started up the Beyond The Surface book club.

Beyond The Surface is a ya book club centered around mental health. Each month we read a new book centered around a different illness to spread awareness and to have a place to share our own stories.

This month the pick of the month is:

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

Lisa Thompson’s debut novel is a page-turning mystery with an emotionally-driven, complex character study at its core — like Rear Window meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Matthew Corbin suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. He hasn’t been to school in weeks. His hands are cracked and bleeding from cleaning. He refuses to leave his bedroom. To pass the time, he observes his neighbors from his bedroom window, making mundane notes about their habits as they bustle about the cul-de-sac.

When a toddler staying next door goes missing, it becomes apparent that Matthew was the last person to see him alive. Suddenly, Matthew finds himself at the center of a high-stakes mystery, and every one of his neighbors is a suspect. Matthew is the key to figuring out what happened and potentially saving a child’s life… but is he able to do so if it means exposing his own secrets, and stepping out from the safety of his home?

So, why the Goldfish Boy?

Last month Indy chose for us to read My Heart and Other Black Holes which gave a look into depression and suicide and while I absolutely adored reading it, it weighed really heavy on my heart. The Goldfish Boy is a middle grade mixed with mystery and a boy who feels as though he cannot leave his home. Something about this story feels like it is a much lighter read yet the focus truly is on OCD and how it affects this boy. I have never really read a book like this one and I think it’s something we can all enjoy reading and discussing.

Discussion schedule:

September 8th: Let’s talk about OCD.. a post discussing OCD that will be posted here on my

blog and in the Goodreads group.

September 15th: an interview with the author or a book related post

September 22nd: book related post

September 29th: another book related post

September 30th: The Goldfish Boy Discussion

Join Beyond The Surface on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/235823-beyond-the-surface

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you are thinking of joining in to read The Goldfish Boy in September! This month is going to be a fun one.

-Till next time!

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