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Ariel Crashes a Train

Book Resume

for Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole

Professional book information and credentials for Ariel Crashes a Train.

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  • School Library Journal:
  • Grades 9 and up
  • Booklist:
  • Grades 9 - 12
  • Kirkus:
  • Ages 14 and up
  • Publisher's Weekly:
  • Ages 14 and up
  • TeachingBooks:*
  • Grades 7-12
  • Cultural Experience:
  • Disability
  • LGBTQ+
  • Genre:
  • Realistic Fiction
  • Year Published:
  • 2024

The following 5 subject headings were determined by the U.S. Library of Congress and the Book Industry Study Group (BISAC) to reveal themes from the content of this book (Ariel Crashes a Train).

The following unabridged reviews are made available under license from their respective rights holders and publishers. Reviews may be used for educational purposes consistent with the fair use doctrine in your jurisdiction, and may not be reproduced or repurposed without permission from the rights holders.

Note: This section may include reviews for related titles (e.g., same author, series, or related edition).

From Horn Book

May 1, 2024
Seventeen-year-old Ariel Burns is struggling with constant, anxious "what-if" thoughts and dark, violent "crocodile in my mind" fantasies that have escalated to an obsessive degree. She resorts to extreme, repetitive actions such as walking in circles sixty-four times to keep those awful thoughts at bay. With her beloved older sister away at college, her parents emotionally distant, and her best friend gone for the summer, Ariel is having difficulty separating fantasy from reality and worries that she is a danger to others. The support of new friends and texts from her sister help her to begin to confront those concerns. Cole explores the parallel stories of Ariel's inner and outer realities through compelling free verse and illuminating juxtaposition of inner monologue and external events. Questions of gender identity are interwoven as Ariel wonders what it means to be a "girl" when you're 5'11" and wear a size twelve shoe. "I am too many things, all of them / too. / Too big / Too quiet / Too broad / Too off." This powerful novel in verse provides an intimate look at the patterns of obsessive-compulsive disorder and offers an opportunity to explore the ways our inner voices affect our behavior and self-concept. Mental health resources are appended. Sylvia Vardell

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

Starred review from February 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Ariel must complete a series of rituals including tapping, counting, and chanting to keep her family safe. If she misses a beat or tally, the scaly green crocodile creeps in with horrific intrusive thoughts of stabbing, slicing, crashing, and burning others. A hidden secret even from her bestie, Leah, only Ariel's sister Mandy knows the truth about the rotting, putrid depravity inside her. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, but maybe her brain does. She is grappling with society's expectations of her size, her parents' expectation of faith, questioning her gender and sexuality, and thwarting the crocodile tangle into chaos in her mind. Verse is a perfect fit for Ariel's narrative, as her intrusive thoughts beat a sharp staccato that interrupts her story metaphorically. Although Mandy is away at college, she provides a safe space of sorts for Ariel to talk that neither her parents nor Leah offer. Addressed in a sensitive and clinical but clear way, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is explained by psychology student Mandy in a highly accessible story about the amygdala who sounds the alarm in the brain. Ariel develops new coping skills, so she has the ability to live her life authentically and robustly with hope. VERDICT This deeply compassionate and sharp-edged dive into OCD is a must for all collections.-Lisa Krok

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from February 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* For as long as Ariel Burns can remember, she has had thoughts that are disturbing and violent in nature. For example, she has a vivid memory from when she was younger of watching a girl she had a crush on die at a softball game, and her first thought was how giving her CPR would be like kissing her. As she gets older, Ariel's thoughts get more intrusive and troubling, and she finds herself completing rituals to stave off the "crocodile" in her head. With help from her friends and her sister, she discovers that she has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Ariel works to manage her diagnosis despite her father's adamant insistence that she pray away her thoughts. Cole's novel in verse is a poignant, raw masterpiece that unbraids the harmful stereotypes of not only mental illness but gender and racial identities as well. Within the book, Ariel's friends are in various stages of self-discovery and healing, and they serve as both foils and advocates. It is through Ariel's different relationships that a modern bildungsroman unfolds, perfectly portraying her journey of acceptance and agency. As usual, there is a searing vulnerability in Cole's verses that stays with the reader long after they have finished the book, making this a necessary and important read.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Kirkus

Starred review from January 1, 2024
Vulnerability and openness may hold the key to survival for a teenager struggling with violent, intrusive thoughts. Without best friend Leah there, Ariel's usual summer job at Wildwood carnival just feels scary and unfamiliar. To make matters worse, Ariel's sister, Mandy, is away at college, leaving Ariel to bear the full brunt of their parents' disappointments and her own violent, aggressive thoughts, which continue to escalate. Though she tries to mask her internal struggles to cope with her heightened ritualistic behaviors, things reach a fever pitch--until Mandy shares information about intrusive thoughts and OCD, and Ariel, a white lesbian, begins to suspect that's what she's suffering from. Having parents who aren't supportive of therapy means she's left to find ways to manage until she can seek out treatment on her own, but Mandy, along with new Wildwood friends Ruth (who's Black) and Rex (who's trans and reads white), prove to be lifelines. Immersive dialogue and realistic emotions lend a sense of intimacy to the narrative; as Ariel begins to accept that her thoughts do not make her a monster, she also begins to accept her tall, muscular frame and non-feminine gender presentation, too. The verse format provides readers with the space that Ariel desperately craves from her uncontrollable thoughts, balancing out the density and weight of the subject matter. A revelatory, razor-sharp, and powerfully honest depiction of the reality of living with OCD. (Verse fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from November 20, 2023
Queer 17-year-old Ariel Burns begins to fear her own mind when intrusive thoughts about harming others intensify during a pivotal summer in this arresting verse novel by Cole (Dear Medusa). Ariel likens the thoughts to a "green and scaly" crocodile, appeased only by careful rituals: counting, isolating, walking in circles, escaping into movies, and working her carnival job. But as the rituals lose efficacy, Ariel's world narrows and past traumas surface. Recognizing her behaviors as symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder, and lacking consent from her conservative, religious parents to attend therapy, Ariel manages her self-diagnosis with help from her older sister, coworkers, and new friends. Against a heady backdrop of carnival attractions and filmmaking that yield painfully apt metaphors for challenges surrounding identity, Cole sharply exposes the legal shortcomings and binary fallacies that sometimes complicate healing. Vivid, emotionally charged verse renders terse, illuminating discussions of gender, race, religion, and sex that candidly contextualize OCD, and give teeth to this dazzling, layered story of self-acceptance and agency. Ariel reads as white. An end note addresses the author's experience with OCD. Ages 14â€"up. Agent: Patrice Caldwell, New Leaf Literary.

From AudioFile Magazine

Olivia A. Cole narrates her novel-in-verse about teenage Ariel, who is dealing with undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder and aloof parents. Ariel's days are spent working at a carnival with caring friends and warding off the intrusive violent thoughts she calls "the crocodile." Afraid she won't live up to her parents' or society's expectations of what it means to be a good girl, Ariel attempts to make herself smaller and smaller. Cole's voice has a soothing meditative quality that flows with the verse. As Ariel begins to understand her condition, thanks to support from her sister, Mandy, and friends, Cole injects hope into her narration. At once stark and compassionate, this novel is a heavy but important listen. C.R. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Ariel Crashes a Train was recognized by committees of professional librarians and educators for the following book awards and distinctions.

Ariel Crashes a Train was selected by educational and library professionals to be included on the following state/provincial reading lists.

United States Lists (3)

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This Book Resume for Ariel Crashes a Train is compiled from TeachingBooks, a library of professional resources about children's and young adult books. This page may be shared for educational purposes and must include copyright information. Reviews are made available under license from their respective rights holders and publishers.

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Retrieved from TeachingBooks on January 19, 2025. © 2001-2025 TeachingBooks.net, LLC. All rights reserved by rights holders.