Play Book Tag discussion

Max Jakubowski is a seventeen-year-old suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. His life is controlled by his overwhelming need to tap his head and recite the names of colors every fifteen minutes on the dot. He doesn’t know why he does it and he can’t stop. Dr. Eric Parrish, the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital, is convinced that he can help ease Max’s compulsions and anxiety. But when Max confesses that he has visions of hurting a local girl, Dr. Parrish must decide whether or not he is obligated to warn the girl’s family. He doesn’t believe that Max will act on his impulses and he doesn’t want to shatter the rapport they’ve been building. Dr. Parrish chooses to trust Max and when the girl is murdered, he is horrified. Did he misjudge the depth of Max’s pathology?

The rumor of a presumed misdiagnosis spreads throughout the town and Dr. Parrish’s reputation, and that of his hospital, are tarnished. He is prevented from visiting his patients, his ex-wife files for full custody of their daughter and his own anxiety is in full force. Dr. Parrish is convinced that his original diagnosis of Max is correct. It doesn’t take long to figure out that there’s an outside force at work. Someone is pulling strings, intent on destroying Eric's personal and professional life.

I thought Eric, who was portrayed as a brilliant psychiatrist, came off as a naive idiot in much of this book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and felt there were plenty of twists and turns that led to a page turning ending.