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Every Last Word Analysis

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The novel Every Last Word written by Tamara Ireland Stone is a beautiful, realistic portrayal of OCD and anxiety disorders of a 16 year old girl, named Samantha McAllister. It grabs the reader from the very first page and does not let them go. Every Last Word tells the story of a high school junior Samantha-Sam. She suffers from Purely-Obsessional OCD, but does not want anyone to find out about it. She is a part of a group of popular girls, the “Crazy Eights”, her so called friends, she has known since elementary school. Sam hides her secret even from her “best friends”. The Crazy Eights not understanding her disorder is not the only reason she keeps it under wraps. She yearns to fit in and feel and seem like a normal teenager, just like everyone …show more content…

She writes poetry in her room, while she is swimming and in Poet’s Corner of course. Poetry helps her calm down and distracts her from all her scary, difficult-to-control, spiraling thoughts and her need to count and think, think, think. Her new-found friends in Poet’s Corner are so unique and yet they all share these secret poetry sessions that binds them into a family. Poet’s Corner is an escape, although it is also where she finds her true self! However the first time Caroline shows her the Poet's Corner everything does not exactly go as planned. When Caroline shows her the secret door in the auditorium of their school, Sam is amazed, however, when she knocks on the door she does not receive the hearty welcome she is expecting. Instead, AJ the one who opens the door gives her a tough time, yet after a little persistence he says she can stay just this once, but after she has to leave, forget everything and never come back. 57ish Later, she cannot stop thinking of the Poet's Corner and all the friendly faces there, she starts obsessing. She feels like she has seen them around, however she cannot remember …show more content…

Caroline tells her that the reason he will not accept her is because she hurt AJ along time ago but Caroline refuses to give her the details. Sam then remembers that she and her friends bullied him in elementary school about his stuttering so much that AJ had to transfer schools! Caroline then tells her that she should write a poem to apologize and then maybe he will let her in the Poet’s Corner. They sit in the auditorium and work on the poem all through lunch. The next day during lunch Sam tells her friends she has to go to the library but instead goes back to the Poet’s Corner AJ turns down her request to join Poet’s Corner again but Sam gives him the apology poem anyway and leaves. A month later she sees Sydney in history class and Sydney says that they talked it over and want Sam to meet them at lunch in Poet’s Corner. Thus, Sam finally becomes a member of Poet’s Corner. AJ eventually forgives her and overtime they become close and start dating. Life seems great for Sam with her feeling close to both AJ and Caroline. She hides all this from her Crazy Eight friends in fear of them not accepting her socially awkward Poet’s corner

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