Kissing Doorknobs

By Terry Spencer Hesser and A.J. Allen

During her preschool years, Tara Sullivan lived in terror that something bad would happen to her mother while they were apart. In grade school, she panicked during the practice fire drills. Practice for what?, Tara asked. For the upcoming disaster that was bound to happen?

Then, at the age of 11, it happened. Tara heard the phrase that changed her life: Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Before Tara knew it, she was counting every crack in the sidewalk. Over time, Tara's "quirks" grew and developed: arranging her meals on plates, nonstop prayer rituals, until she developed a new ritual wherin she kissed her fingers and touched doorknobs....

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 10, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307477743

Reviews for Kissing Doorknobs

[mutantpudding · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I found this books descriptions of experiencing OCD and anxiety very relatable, but I dont think its particularly successful as a story. The writing isnt great and a lot of the info about OCD is outdated, which is why I went with 2 instead of 3 stars.

[susiesharp_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What an interesting story. Tara is a young girl with undiagnosed OCD she feels crazy and her family thinks she’s crazy and her behavior is causing them to go crazy.This was a fascinating look into the mind of someone with OCD how awful it must be to have these compulsions .When Tara first hears ‘Step on a crack and break your mothers back’ it gets stuck in head and she cannot ever step on another crack and starts counting them. The journey she goes on from there is so sad , her parents take her to doctor after doctor who continue to misdiagnose her everything from ADD, anger issues, and even anorexia because of the fact she has to line up all her food before she eats it.She can’t leave the house without kissing each finger and touching each one to the doorknob 33 times when someone comes to the door she can’t stop to answer it but the man on the other side of the door ends up to be her salvation and she is finally given the correct diagnosis.This is a work of fiction but is based on the authors own life. This is a must read for anyone who may know someone with OCD.

[mlarge_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Step on a crack, break your mother's back!" is the rhyme that begins to run ceaselessly on Tara’s mind. Tara does not know how the “tyrants” gained possession of her mind, but in an effort to control her irrational fears she engages in strange behaviors. She counts sidewalk cracks on her way to school, stands directly in front of two different clocks, prays aloud when anyone swears and begins to kiss her front doorknob 33 times. Tara’s concerned parents have taken her to different specialists who have misdiagnosed her. Tara’s rituals baffle and shame her; she is afraid she is becoming “crazy,” thus she becomes secretive and unsuccessfully tries to hide her rituals from her family, friends and neighbors. Tara’s behavior alienates her from her circle of friends, and drive her mother insane (violence escalates from verbal warnings to physical assaults). Towards the end of the book, a family friend identifies her rituals as OCD and connects her with an older boy who is also affected by OCD. This story is engaging and does a phenomenal job at introducing readers to the anguish and torments of OCD.

[delaney7h4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Summary: Tara is turning 15 and there's something seriously wrong with her. One phrase changed her life. "Step on a crack, break your mother's back." Before she knows it she's counting cracks, playing with troll dolls, skipping class in closets, and kissing doorknobs. Review: One of my favorite books!!!

[pacifickle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Tara Sullivan has obsessive compulsive disorder. She cannot step on cracks or it will break her mother's back, so she counts all the cracks on the walk to school. She also cannot help but pray every time some curses, has to turn the doorknob with equal pressure from all ten fingers, and must confess every single infraction at her Catholic confession. She visits various doctors who cannot diagnose her, much to the frustration of her family, who find it hard to understand that she doesn't want to be difficult but feels overwhelmingly compelled to do her rituals to be okay. While this part of the book is very interesting, Tara often speaks as though she is an adult instead of a teen. She comes to conclusions at age eleven that are clearly not possible. Also, there is a small romance injected towards the end of the book that doesn't fit with the rest of the novel and seems forced, as though the author felt obligated to include romance because it was a YA novel. Despite these drawbacks, the book is appropriate for 12+, and is a great look at what OCD really feels like, and the ramifications it can have on the family members of someone with OCD.