Multiple Choice

by Janet Tashjian

For as long as Monica Devon can remember, she has been two a whiz at making anagrams, and a perfectionist who spends most of her time obsessing about saying and doing the right thing. Now at fourteen, Monica's compulsive habits have spiraled out of control. Seeing no other way out, she creates Multiple Choice, a roulette word game that will force spontaneity into her life, and, she hopes, free her from her obsessions. It seems so easy--create a list of options, choose a Scrabble tile, and carry out the act. At first the game is exciting and somewhat liberating. But soon it starts to go devastatingly wrong. Fortunately for Monica, help is closer than she thinks.

With a distinctive voice full of both humor and realism and a mastery of detail, Janet Tashjian reveals marked insight into the dark corners of a troubled teenager's mind.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness, Middle Grade, Mental Health, Childrens

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Janet Tashjian is a middle-grade and young adult novelist who’s been writing books for children for fifteen years. Her first novel Tru Confessions was made into a critically acclaimed Disney TV movie starring Clara Bryant and Shia LaBeouf. The Gospel According to Larry is a cult favorite and Fault Line is taught in many middle and high schools. Her novels My Life As a Book, My Life As a Stuntboy, and My Life As a Cartoonist are all illustrated by her teenage son, Jake. Their collaboration continues with Einstein the Class Hamster coming in August.

Janet lives with her family in Los Angeles, enjoying her respite from the long Boston winters. When she isn’t writing, she’s rewriting.

Janet has been doing school visits for fifteen years; you can email her at spatulaproductions@mac.com for details.

We invite you to follow her on Twitter @JanetTashjian and like her books on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Lif...
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Plus, check out her YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/janettash...

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself entranced by the sickeningly compelling game Monica comes up with; making any decision on her own is too difficult and frightening, so she makes up four disparate options, assigns each a letter (A,B,C,D), gives her Scrabble tiles a good shake, and depending on which letter she picks out of the bag, follows through with that decision. How giddily freeing that would be, to be able to say, "It's not me! It's the universe!" Monica is one of those characters I always wish I could hug so we'd both feel better.

It was interesting reading this at the same time as Ella Enchanted as both are entirely about the element of choice - one character at the mercy of the choices of others, the other essentially relinquishing choice entirely.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm almost done. I didn't like it very much, I guess. I didn't understand why she didn't stop after she lost Lynn. Other than that, it was pretty good.

[Zev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every time I load laundry into the dryer, I turn my head away from the machine before pressing the start button. This is so if the machine explodes, my face won't be burned and my head will instead hit the laundry room door hard. Somehow, this will protect me. I don't know why. If I don't do it, I have to distract myself until the cycle is done. Every time I start a new load of laundry in the wash, I have to look down to check for flooding. Something might pop loose. Please don't ask about my thoughts on the hot water heater. I don't heat up water on the stove past nine pm unless I've opened the window. I don't open up the window in the daytime, for reasons even sillier than the ones I've listed.

I have the same mental illness that Monica, this book's protagonist, has. I'm in therapy, and I'm not open about having OCD. People just figure it out somehow. I don't read books about characters that have mental illnesses that I have. I have a few. I live with them. I don't need to see them in fiction. But I remembered this book, and bought myself a copy. Janet Tashjian deserves a ton of awards for her portrayal of an illness that is seen as both setup and punchline to society at large. It was a choice both clever and moving to have Monica not yet be in high school. A ton of people don't think kids can have this. -Diagnosis- usually doesn't happen until the age of eighteen, but that's not the issue. I had to set this book down a few times while reading it. As a tween, my thinking was: I know I'm weird like Monica, but I can't do anagrams so I don't have whatever she has. I was diagnosed with OCD as an adult and given much clearer information: anagrams aren't part of it. Here, they're a clever device used as chapter transitions, characterization, and even plot points. I'm glad magical thinking was shown. I liked how the book was written.

[Karijean31 · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of a strange book but i didn't hate it. a teenage girl trying to find herself makes up 4 choices every day and then picks a scrabble tile to pick which one she'll do. So one day she goes to school in her pjs, the most dangerous one is locking the kid she babysits in his room and he ends up getting hurt. it was an okay story but I went away from it not uplifted.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging, but ends a little too simplistically for as much of a build-up as it has in the beginning. But very, very relatable for someone who struggles with a drive for perfectionism.

[Becca Schu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young me loved this book.

Adult me enjoyed it, but it wasn’t quite as captivated, but was still engaged.

[Teagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book messed me UP as a kid. But, it's enjoyable enough now, for its age range.

[B E · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was 12-14, I struggled deeply with scrupulosity type OCD. This novel made me feel far less alone. I'd like to thank Janet Tashjian for writing a great novel for kids with OCD who need to feel seen, and be confronted with the negative trajectory that OCD will lead you to if you continue indulging your obsessions/compulsions. Seeking help is so big. 💕 thanks Janet

P.s. I'm in my thirties now.

[Maddie Mashek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book 4 stars.

The book "Multiple Choice," is about a fourteen year old girl named Monica who obsesses about anything and everything 98.782 percent of the time. She is extremely intelligent and can complete word puzzles in very little time, by taking phrases and unscrambling them into different phrases. In the beginning of the book, Monica takes us through her everyday life, and exactly how MUCH she obsesses. She has a brother and a sister, and while assisting her mother for their birthday shopping, they pick out bean bags. Monica is convinced that they are not equal in weight, and so she starts scooping out the insides and ends up making an enormous mess. This is just one daily example of her obsessing.
In the middle of the book, Monica creates a game with her scrabble tiles called "Multiple Choice," that includes 4 choices. A is something she would ordinarily do, B is something really dumb, C is mean, and D is charitable. Her first choice, she picked B, which was wear her pajamas to school. The teachers were astonished at how perfect, clean-cut Monica would ever wear pajamas to school. She eventually got invited to a party, and picked B again, which was mention cookie dough in 5 conversations. She used Multiple Choice to pick many choices in her life, and made it more exciting and unpredictable, until one choice went way too far.Towards the end of the book, Monica picks C, write something mean about Lynn at school. The number one rule of Multiple Choice is that you can not go back on your choice. She had gone too far, and had to do it. Once Lynn saw what she had wrote, she gave Monica the cold shoulder and became best friends with Monica's worst enemy. Monica enters a craft fair and makes over 15 barb wire trees. Most that saw them really enjoyed it. Monica stopped obsessing as much, but still remained the same.

Main Characters:
Monica- obsessive, serious, and careful
Lynn- Monica's best friend, outgoing, creative, carefree
Tish- Monica's sister, loving, loves soccer, competitive, good at spelling
Micheal-Monica's brother, sweet, soccer, fun
Monica's Mom- busy, nice, understanding, unfrequently dismissive
Monica's Dad- calm, really cool, easy going, easy to talk to

The dynamic character in this book is Monica, because she changes and shifts the most.She loosens up at the end of the book, and becomes a bit more daring.

The theme of this book is to care about other people's feelings and also to live life fully, and not to be so tied up to being perfect.

I rated this book 4 stars because it was very interesting and enjoyable, but didn't have that spark or writing style that made me say, "Wow, I'm going to rate this 5 stars!"Nevertheless, it was a good book and I don't regret reading it.

My personal reactions with this book somewhat tie into me wanting to be perfect, but relating to the new, free Monica more than the old, tied up and planned Monica. Most of the time I am fun and carefree, but once in a while I feel as if (for some odd reason) that I need to do everything perfect, whether its missing my spot be 2 inches (pitching), missing one question on a quiz, or getting the right amount of information for a report. In that reason of being a trained perfectionist, I can relate to the book immensely.

I would recommend this book to the age group of 12-15 year old girls. It contains some cuss words, but doesn't have any sexual content, and doesn't drop the F-Bomb once. This book isn't recommended towards boys, because it wouldn't keep their attention for the first few chapters, and isn't written for them. They wouldn't understand the hardship of the friendship problems like all girls go through, and they may not have the same feelings about perfectionism, or may not relate to how she is feeling. (Monica expresses her feelings very strongly in this book, and the boys may be like 'she needs to suck it up,')

[Skyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

"98.762 percent of my time is spent obsessing. About what? EVERYTHING."

Fourteen year old Monica Devon has been an anagram whiz for as long as she can remember. A perfectionist by nature, she finds comfort in the concrete solvability of word puzzles. But her obsessive nature has only gotten more intense over time. When her mind starts filling up with worries and fears, Monica fights to reign in her thoughts and calm her racing mind. But it's not helping. No one seems to understand what's going on inside her head. Well, what if there was a way to take out the decision making completely? If she didn't have to spend so much time thinking about options and what choice is the right choice, maybe she'd be more like the other kids in her class. Maybe then she'd be normal. So she comes up with a game that she calls Multiple Choice. The game works like this. Using four Scrabble tiles (A-D) to represent choices, she will pick one at random thus taking away her control over the situation and relieving her of her anxieties. A is the safe choice, B is risky, C is absolutely absurd, and D is all of the above. Sounds like a good idea, right? But how long can Monica Devon keep up this game, especially when her decisions stop being good decisions and begin to affect those around her? And what happens when things don't get better, as Monica had hoped, but instead go awry? Is she really better off playing Multiple Choice, or is it time to put the tiles away and quit the game for good?

This is an excellent book for young adults. Not only does it weave issues of OCD seamlessly into the plot, but it is full of genuine, likeable characters that kids will be able to easily relate to. Multiple Choice encourages readers who are struggling to seek help from the mentors and adults around them instead of sorting through their problems alone.

[Katie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at a library book sale about a year ago and read it last night when I couldn't sleep. It's a fast read, though I wouldn't really say easy. I thought I obsessed a lot, but I've got nothing on Monica. The author did a good job of getting us in her head and making us understand why her rather ridiculous decisions made sense to her. It's never stated that she has any type of disorder - it's treated just as something teenage girls may go through, similar to an eating disorder (though eating disorders ARE disorders, and it sounds to me like Monica has OCD, but I could be wrong).

Overall, I liked this book. I liked watching how the game went from being helpful to horrifying and how she couldn't stop playing, even when it was messing up her life. I liked how her family loved her but was completely oblivious to her problems. That part seemed rather realistic.

I also liked parts of the end and didn't like others. I liked that her friendship with Lynn wasn't magically fixed at the end. I liked that she and "mean girl" Christine ended up having fun together, which hints at the possibility of a real friendship to come. But I didn't like how they dealt with her problems. I liked the idea of taking one small step at a time, but they do sort of wrap things up too nicely with her obsessive behavior. Knowing you're being ridiculous doesn't just magically make you stop being ridiculous, especially when the whole point is that she has serious trouble controlling her thoughts. She would not be "cured" in the time frame of this story, and I don't really like the implication that she was - or even that she would be soon.

But maybe that's what's to be expected when you read a middle grade book. I don't know. Overall, it was a good book, the kind that would be good in a school library.

[Grace Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monica Devon is a girl who worries, is obsessed about everything that goes on in her life and is the anagram geek. But then, this bad habit of always trying to reflect on the things she should of done or said gave her no choice but to make a Multiple Choice game. This was the game which she would make 4 choices to choose from, a through d and she would pick one from the bag. Whatever the outcome was, she would have to follow it, there was no exception. Sometimes, the outcome came out great, but others just ruined her day. Even one of them ruined her friendship with her best friend since third grade and made her classmates make fun of her. Another choice even let her to lose her kaleidoscope, one of her most prized possessions. But, luckily for her, she can change things very fast and learn what to do. Even better, at the end, she becomes close to the girl who was constantly mean to her. Read this book to find out how she felt about herself and the outcome of all the worries and stress in her life.
Multiple Choice can relate to many teenager's problems that they face daily. Janet Tashijan writes with a distinctive voice that inspires and encourages readers to continue reading as well. When Monica Devon finally realizes the way she should go and what to do, she learns many life lessons and sets a firm decision. When I read this book, I thought about the way the author would have thought while creating this book. This book is recommended for people who enjoy learning from books and following examples of teens that is impactful. I rated this book with 5 stars purposely to show how I feel about how amazing the book was to me personally.

[Jolyn F · Rating 5 out of 5]

November Book Report
Multiple Choice
Janet Tashjian

98.782 percent of Monica Devon's time is spent obsessing. Over what? EVERYTHING. Monica is an extremely intelligent girl in middle school, who enjoys word games such as anagrams, or scrabble. She has two younger siblings (one brother, Billy, and one sister, Tish) and one best friend, Lynn. When Monica goes to the mall with her mother to shop for birthday presents, they pick out two beanbag chairs. But Monica insists that one is bigger then the other, so she cuts them both open, and transfers the beads from the bigger beanbag chair to the smaller one, resulting in a room full of styrofoam beads. This was just one example of Monica's everyday life of obsessing. Later into this book, Monica is tired of obsessing over every little thing, so she creates a game called Multiple Choice. First, she creates a question for herself. Then, she takes four scrabble tiles (A, B, C, D) and creates options or answers. For example: What should my outfit be for the day? A- Jeans and a t-shirt. B- Pajamas. C- a bridesmaids gown from her cousins wedding. D- Old black pants. Then, she mixes up the scrabble tiles and picks one. But when this game goes from helpful to horrible, she has no other choice but to stop playing.

The main theme for this amazing book is to always be yourself. When Monica created the game, it was to help her stop obsessing, but it completely changed her personality. She ended up losing friends, making her parents think she was crazy, etc. But when she stopped playing the game, and she finally became herself again, she got her friends back, and even made some new ones.

[Chance Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has it's own identity and it's incredibly interesting. I seriously thing the author has to be some sort of Psychotherapist this book was really well done. Our main character can see and obsesses over issues within things people may not notice. I find it touching that while it's based on OCD she never labels her issue. Having your mind forced to see through a game where you chose what you will do by a random draw is scarring-ly smart, unique, and dangerous. (I wouldn't recommend anyone to do it.) I've never read a story where the lead character has become prisoner to their own mind and in such a way. To follow rules and regulations even if made up within their own mind and how breaking them would become punishment to their own self. (Dare I say this is the pioneer of a new style of book?) When you read this just remember there are people that live like this everyday and they can't break it, afraid to break it, and don't know how to break it. I found the end sad and understandably disappointing. There I would have preferred a different ending between Monica and her friend Darcy but it is good. Believe it or not the gimmick was just as unique as the concept. They actually used Anagrams throughout the story.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book I really liked how the ending wasn't what you thought it would be. The ending really showed the development of the main character in the story. With our giving to much away, she had a lost something and thought that she needed to get it back. But, by the end of the story you and the main character see that what you want might not always be the best thing for you or for others.
In addition, I was intrigued by the game she made up. It was interesting how it came to be and how some of the choices in the games were so wild. I understand that you want to step out of your comfort zone but some of the choices were too extreme. However, it does make sense because the trouble she gets to and the lesson she learns is because of those certain choices in the game.
This book was just a nice simple read. It is simple to understand and quick to read. It includes anagrams and oxymorons. I personally am into books with a bigger plot and conflict and this book didn't fulfill that need, but that's all-right I guess.

[Breanna G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting.Its about this girl named monica that is obsisive bout being perfect,she makes up this game called multiple chioce.The game comes out to be a bad game it makes her do some stuff she dont want to do.Like write something bad about her bestfriend lynn, and locking this little boy she takes care of in his room nd then him jumping out of the window nd hurting his eye.She thinks her life is horrible and that she wants to die.She wants to stop odsessing about stuff and she kinda of does.The climax of this story is that at first she wanted to be perfect and be someone she isnt and now shes just monica a normal girl that doesnt need to be someone else.
I like this quote from the book;Its me,its all me.Who I'll be forever.Or at least for today.I like it because it means shes being her and noone else.That shes not going to try be someone else, shes going to try to be just monica.

[Riley Stapley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Multiple choice by Janet Tashjian was a different book. It is a book about a girl named Monica that obsessing over everything. Monica has to have everything perfect, at the beginning she Has to fix beanbags to be the exact weight. Her biggest task was to stop obsessing over everything
So Monica made up a game called the multiple-choice game. She would decide what would be for each letter and whatever she picked she would have to do. She made some very bad choices. So she goes to look for help from the little boys mom that she babysits Dara.
This book would be great for seventh and eighth graders. The book needs a little more attention and more time to read. It is not a easy book for younger readers. Younger readers might get really confused throughout the book.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books where I zoomed through, and then after reading it, started to comprehend what happened. Can I just say that so many things in this book bothered me? Like why would you give the kid your kaleidoscope, as well as lock him in his room?! And why would her whole friendship be over just because she called her friend stupid?! Drama much? And why would you choose to hurt your friend as an option? I mean, the game was okay, UNTIL she did that. It was dumb. It frustrated me. However, I understood so well when she started thinking about her friend getting other friends and going on that long rant about how her and her siblings won't be close and everyone will hate her. I've been there. I feel. Still, great book except for what I stated, and I rate it 3.5 stars :)

[Salsabrarian]

Booktalk draft: Monica has made up a game that only she plays. It's called multiple choice. She's just been invited to a party and choice #10 has 4 options: read p 84. Monica makes her choice by pulling one of four Scrabble letter tiles out of a little bag (bring Scabble tiles). And whatever letter she's chosen, ABC or D is what she has to do, no matter what. Even if it means wearing her pajamas to school. Monica had to make up this game because she is a perfectionist who obsesses about saying and doing the right things. When her obsessing starts to get out of control, playing multiple choice helps Monica feel better. And the game works...until Monica draws a letter for a choice that...(finish).

[Aiyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. While the term OCD is never used, it's obvious that the main character struggles with many of its symptoms. In an effort to reduce her anxiety about making the right decisions, perfectionist Monica decides to hand her life over to random chance, inventing the game "mulitple choice" and forcing herself to follow through with whatever it tells her to do. When the consequences of this approach finally become too serious, however, Monica begins to realize that her self-made solution is actually a trap. A compassionate and believable novel about facing one's own demons and learning to cope with uncertainty.

[Merredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book from the bargain used bin on Saturday, and finished it by the next day. It’s a quick read, and technically intended for a younger audience, but I think that adults such as myself would be interested as well. This is first person, about a 14 year old with (undiagnosed) OCD, and her struggle to be herself. I always like reading about different/weird people, since I am one myself, and absolutely identify. The whole thing with her friend was unresolved, which was my only fault with this book. I liked it though.

[Wisterious Woman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry. Anyone who has every had a problem shutting off their mind and not thinking about past mistakes will be able to empathize with the main character in this book. We all have to make choices in life but for those people that hate to make mistakes and fail, making decisions is hard. This book would be a good read for a teenager that feels they have to be perfect or has a friend that feels that way. It is easy to feel unloveable until you learn to take the baby steps needed to change the way you think about life.

[Vejas Vasiliauskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how people often ask you what your favorite book is, and you don't know? I would say this one was my favorite. I was going through a hard time emotionally when I read this, and I felt like I could relate to Monica. Not to mention that it was interesting to see what Monica's choice was going to be. I have to say, a crazy game but still very creative.
I also found it interesting that Monica was into anagrams. I never knew that there was such thing as an anagram generator until I read the end. I looked it up and had some anagram fun afther this. I will always remember this book fondly.

[Hong Deng · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really amazing. It's about this girl who always obsessed everything. She created a multiple choice game. Every time she wants to do something she will make up four choices one she normally do, one she would never do,one she thinks is really crazy and one she has to sacrifice a lot. She thought that by doing so, she won't be a perfectionist anymore, but......(Read the Book to Find out!)

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea of a girl allowing her life to be ruled by the draw of Scrabble titles both horrifies and fascinates me, and this book is where my interest in OCD started. For a while I even tried playing the same game (my takeaway from books is clearly spot-on), albeit without ever actually doing anything dangerous or problematic, but gave up when it got too hard to think of options. Still, I read this 10 years ago, and the tile imagery has never been forgotten.

[Sandra McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a clinical psychologist for over 31 years, I could easily relate to Monica's suffering. Driven to desperation by her obsessive-compulsive disorder. she invents a game she calls "Multiple Choice" which she hopes will free her from her obsessive thinking and behavior, but the game itself becomes an obsession and only ends up complicating her life even more.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I found totally disturbing... But couldn't stop reading. I still can't play a game of Scrabble. Completely freaked me out, it was as if I could feel this girl slowly driving herself towards insanity. I read this almost 5 years ago, and it still has an impact on me. Crazy.

[Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good voice and insight into the world of an obsessive compulsive teen. However, the book's resolution felt a little simplistic, like the author glossed over the challenges of overcoming her disorder.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The concept of multiple choices A-D makes sense to my chaotic, anxious brain. Thus I've been wanting to read this book for a long time. The target age is middle school, but I feel I've read other books intended for the same audience that had so much more depth than this one did.

[Chiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and clever I wouldn't mind try that game for a week too! ahha

THIS DOES NOT COUNT