Multiple Choice
By Janet Tashjian
Published: 1999
Genre: Young adult novel
Info: Multiple Choice is by the same author who wrote Tru Confessions.
Synopsis: The main character of Multiple Choice is Monica Devon, a 14-year-old girl. Monica has some big problems. She is a chronic worrywart/perfectionist and is also a little obsessive-compulsive. At the start of the story, she is upset with her anxiety-ridden self and tries to free herself from it. Unfortunately, she tries everything to no avail. After playing Scrabble with her friend Lynn, Monica is struck with an idea. On a multiple-choice question, one answer must be the correct one. Monica begins carrying around the A, B, C, and D tiles from her Scrabble game to help her play her Game. She decides that she will give herself four choices on a course of action each day. Choice A will be something that she would normally do. Choice B will be something really stupid. Choice C will be something mean, and Choice D will be something self-sacrificial. She plays this game for about two weeks, obsessively following the rules she has set for herself, and she feels that she is becoming more spontaneous and that her company is now more enjoyable. However, the mean things she forces herself to do eventually escalate and end the Game abruptly. Monica must deal with the consequences and in doing so, finally makes herself less rigid and demanding.
Analysis: I love this book; it's presented in a very unusual way. Monica is a word whiz; she is amazing at anagrams (rearranging the letters of a word/phrase to form other words/phrases, i.e. "evil" from "live"). The book is filled with anagrams that she figures out, and one can see her self-containedness in the way her mind grips onto a word and won't let go of it until it's satisfied. The hilarious situations Monica gets in because of her game are pretty funny. This book is well-written and enjoyable reading for young adults.
Recommendation: I recommend this to those who have little compulsions they must deal with, as well as those who enjoy word games. It's very good entertainment.
