List of Ten

This harrowing yet hopeful novel shares “an authentic and compassionate look at the ups and downs of teenage life and living with Tourette syndrome” (Kirkus). For most people, the number ten is just another number. But for sixteen-year-old Troy Hayes, who suffers from Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, it dictates his entire life. He must do everything by its exacting rhythm—even in the face of ridicule and bullying. Finally fed up with the humiliation, loneliness, and pain he endures, Troy writes a list of ten things to do by the tenth anniversary of his diagnosis—culminating in suicide on the actual day. But the process of working his way through the list changes Troy’s life: he becomes friends with Khory, a smart, beautiful classmate who has her own troubled history. Khory unwittingly helps Troy cross off items on his list, moving him ever closer to his grand finale, even as she shows him that life may have more possibilities than he imagined.