Button Pusher

Gr 7 Up–In this memoir, Page looks back on a childhood and adolescence marked by abuse and ADHD. Tyler is a good-hearted kid, but his attention wanders and he’s impulsive; he doesn’t understand why he does the things he does, causing problems in school. He explains, “My thoughts and actions don’t get through to my brain until it’s too late.” The family doctor prescribes Ritalin, which Tyler takes for the next eight years. As he grows, Tyler begins to see some of his own behaviors in his father, whose mood shifts quickly and who is verbally and sometimes physically abusive; Tyler vows not to be like him. Tyler’s parents’ marriage is volatile, and though his mom almost leaves his dad, they don’t divorce till many years later. Before his junior year of high school, Tyler stops taking Ritalin (without consulting his doctor), but as he heads off to college, there’s foreshadowing about the challenges he will face with adult ADHD. Action in the cartoon art is easy to follow, and high-emotion scenes are intensified with color: fighting parents in fiery orange, Tyler and his younger brother cowering in blue. Interspersed throughout are notes from doctor’s visits and information about how the brains of people with ADD/ADHD work differently. Tyler and his family are white.