| Coming Of Age |
| Mental Illness |
| Depression |
| Social Themes |
| Young Adult Fiction |
Summary
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Calvin has always known his fate is linked to the comic book character from Calvin & Hobbes. He was born on the day the last strip was published; his grandpa left a stuffed tiger named Hobbes in his crib; and he even has a best friend named Susie. As a child Calvin played with the toy Hobbes, controlling his every word and action, until Hobbes was washed to death. But now Calvin is a teenager who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, Hobbes is back--as a delusion--and Calvin can't control him. Calvin decides that if he can convince Bill Watterson to draw one final comic strip, showing a normal teenaged Calvin, he will be cured. Calvin and Susie (and Hobbes) set out on a dangerous trek across frozen Lake Erie to track him down.
Author Notes
Martine Leavitt has written several award-winning novels for young adults, including My Book of Life by Angel, which garnered five starred reviews and was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist; Keturah and Lord Death , a finalist for the National Book Award; and Heck Superhero , a finalist for the Governor General's Award. She lives in Alberta, Canada.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Coincidences abound in Calvin's life: he was born on the day the last Calvin & Hobbes cartoon strip was published, his grandpa gave him a stuffed tiger called Hobbes when he was a kid, and his best friend was even named Susie. However, she became beautiful and stopped being his friend. When Calvin is diagnosed with schizophrenia, he believes that Bill Watterson is the key to curing him of the illness and he must escape the hospital to meet the famously reclusive artist. The teen, along with an eight-foot-tall version of Hobbes (who is imaginary) and Susie (who may or may not be imaginary), journeys across frozen Lake Erie to track down Watterson. This is a gentle and unique story about a boy struggling with schizophrenia; while Calvin is indeed having grandiose visions that include a beloved cartoon character, he is funny, charming, and smart. Even though Calvin's stream-of-consciousness rants can drag the story down, the premise that Susie may or may not be on this dangerous trek with the protagonist will keep readers interested. There are genuinely beautiful moments in the writing throughout; however, the ending is too pat and feels contrived, which will leave some readers unsatisfied. VERDICT Sweet, romantic, and funny, but flawed.-Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a thoughtful story presented as a single, extended letter, Leavitt (Blue Mountain) explores the impact of mental illness through the experiences of a 17-year-old diagnosed with schizophrenia. Calvin is obsessed with Bill Watterson and his comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. It makes sense: he used to have a best friend named Susie and a stuffed tiger named Hobbes, and now Hobbes has returned as a full-fledged, uncontrollable hallucination. Calvin figures that if he can just get Watterson to create a strip depicting the fictional Calvin as a healthy teenager, he'll be fine as well, so he sets off on a perilous journey across a frozen Lake Erie from Canada to Cleveland. He's accompanied by Susie, who may or may not be part of his delusions; either way, she's the voice of reason as they meet an assortment of oddball characters on the lake and delve into philosophical matters. Funny, intellectual, and entertaining, it's a sensitive yet irreverent adventure about a serious subject. Ages 12-up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenberger Associates. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Seventeen-year-old Calvin has recently been diagnosed as schizophrenic. Calvin believes that his life is inextricably linked to Bill Watterson, the famously reclusive artist behind the comic strip Calvin and Hobbesa belief reinforced by the constant presence of the voice of tiger Hobbes in his consciousness. This is coupled with some odd coincidences: his name; the fact that he was born on the day of the final Calvin and Hobbes strip; and that, just as in the comic strip, the girl next door is named Susie. Calvin is convinced that if Watterson draws a final cartoon of his character at age seventeen without the stuffed tiger, Hobbes will disappear from Calvins mind and Calvin will be cured. On a pilgrimage to find Watterson, Calvin sets off across frozen Lake Erie during the dead of winter, and Susie insists on accompanying him. Their ill-fated journey ends in a harrowing rescue, but along the way Calvin and Susie examine (sweetly and humorously) their relationship, ponder the big existential questions of life, and navigate the perils of iced-over Lake Erie as they make their way toward Cleveland and their hoped-for meet-up with Watterson. Written as a letter to Watterson (to fulfill a make-up English assignment), the first-person narrative eschews quotation marks and dialogue tags, further blurring the lines between real life and whats in Calvins head. This is a shorter, more accessible, not-as-dark treatment of teenage mental illness than Shustermans Challenger Deep (rev. 3/15), but its just as memorable. jonathan hunt (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Calvin's personality seems to have been destined: he was born on the day comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" ended, his grandfather gave the infant a Hobbes-like tiger toy that was his constant childhood companion, and his best (and only) friend was always Susie. But now important senior-year assignments are going undone, Susie has abandoned him for more popular kids, and suddenly Calvin is convinced that Hobbes is right there with him. It's schizophrenia. Calvin is placed on a locked ward for treatment. He decides his last, best hope is to go on a dangerous pilgrimageto hike all the way across frozen Lake Erie from his Canadian home to Cleveland, where the comic-strip creator lives. Watterson could, perhaps, save him if he'd just agree to write one last comic strip featuring a healthy Calvin and no Hobbes. Susie, loyal still in spite of her previous behavior, accompanies him. The evolving relationship between the two shines a light on Calvin's unbroken soul. Hobbes' biting commentary keeps Calvin grounded enough to make most things work, as Calvin's voice, bewildered, frustrated, sometimes tragic, but always determined and surprisingly insightful, provides counterpoint to alter ego Hobbes'. Equal parts coming-of-age tale, survival adventure, and love story, this outstanding novel also sensitively deals with an uncommon but very real teen issue, making it far more than the sum of its parts. (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In this YA answer to Harvey, 17-year-old Calvin suffers from schizophrenia, causing him to see and hear a large, invisible tiger: Hobbes, of course. It's a quick hop from imaginary tiger to psych ward, where Calvin grows convinced his cure lies not in medication but in persuading cartoonist Bill Watterson to write one more Calvin and Hobbes strip one where a healthy teenage Calvin exists without Hobbes. All hinges on making a dangerous pilgrimage across frozen Lake Erie to Watterson in Cleveland. Accompanied by his best friend Susie, the teens' icy trek is punctuated by philosophical discussions, random encounters, realizations of love, and Hobbes' humorous comments. Though he is highly intelligent, Calvin's sense of reality is blurred, casting the journey in a slightly surreal light. Allusions to Calvin and Hobbes and a lighthearted tone blanket cracks in the plan and mounting tensions resulting from Calvin's illness, as when he wastes limited supplies to feed Hobbes. Written as if addressed to Watterson himself, the novel has a fresh, funny voice that never diminishes the seriousness of schizophrenia. National Book Award finalist Leavitt (Keturah and Lord Death, 2006) delivers an imaginative exploration of mental illness, examining what's real and what's true in this magical world.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2015 Booklist
