The Goldfish Boy

the goldfish boy

       
The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

Matthew Corbin is 12 years old and lives in a quiet cul-de-sac with his parents. Matthew has stopped going to school because he suffers from severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). He continually cleans his room and washes his hands so much that the skin is raw. 

Matthew spends his days in his room, or in the room across the hall, known as the office. From each of these rooms, he can see the whole street, front and back, and spends his time watching the comings and goings of his neighbours and making notes about them in his notebook. 

One day Teddy, the toddler next door, goes missing and it looks like Matthew was the last person to see him before he disappeared. As the investigation develops, Matthew and his friends Melody and Jake work together to do some detective work of their own with Matthew observing and Melody and Jake doing the legwork on the outside. 

Will Teddy return home safely and  will Matthew and his friends be able to solve the mystery in time?  This is a well written story with a good mystery and a good honest look at OCD. With Matthew narrating, we feel what he feels and get a good understanding of the difficulties he faces daily and the strength he needs to step outside his comfort zone to solve the mystery of Teddy's disappearance.