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Ariel is afraid of her own mind. She has violent fantasies that she feels like she can't control. They are getting worse and to make things worse her best friend is left for the summer with her boyfriend, leaving Ariel to go to their carnival summer job alone. Her sister has also left for uni, leaving her to try and navigate these thoughts at home alone as well. She does her rituals and keeps her distance from the things that trigger her mind, but it's all too much until her sister realizes that she has undiagnosed OCD.

Ariel Crashes a Train is a great read for anyone going through the same thing, but also a good reminder that just because you're different from everyone else, doesn't make you broken. I think this book does a great job with the supportive characters, including Ariel's sister and new friends Rex and Ruth. It is a well-written book, and the way it was formatted made it easy to read.

Thanks to Random House Children's and NetGalley for a copy of the ebook. This review is left voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Written in verse, "Ariel Crashes a Train" opens a window into the protagonist's mind, inviting readers to explore its darkest corners as she grapples with OCD and intrusive thoughts.

Like *Dear Medusa*, this novel is a difficult yet crucial read, masterfully crafted. Cole excels in portraying a person with OCD, presenting a fully realized character beyond their diagnosis. Ariel is a stark reminder that you never truly know someone until they reveal their darkest parts. Even with their mind on display, Ariel and everyone similar to her is worthy of love and friendship.

What an incredibly powerful and important story!

This one pulled me in immediately! With its unique structure and how clear and potent Ariel’s voice was I was hooked!

The way the other describes being in the mind of someone with OCD is just unbelievably powerful. It was so relatable and understandable. I was pulling for
Ariel the entire way through.

I thought all the characters were so wonderful. They each were incredibly real. And even with very little dialogue and being almost entirely in Ariel’s head I knew exactly who each of these characters were.

I think this is one that everyone needs to read. Especially anyone that knows someone struggling with OCD or other types of neurodivergence. It is such a compelling and informative narrative. As well as a very interesting story.

I received a a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and statements are my own.

My Thoughts:
This novel in verse puts the reader in the mind of Ariel who suffers from an extreme case of OCD. The first person narration into Ariel's violent thoughts, freaking out about the crocodile, the blood, trying to control reality versus mental instability is a visceral full speed train crash of an experience. I had to stop to breathe, put down the book. The struggle is about mental health, gender, sexuality, religion, family, chaos. But there is also kindness, and loving hope. I have never understood OCD at this level. This is a necessary window, mirror and sliding glass door for teens. No one should have to do this alone. No one. We need to educate ourselves so we can help our students.

Even if you do not know a student now, this is a must in your classroom library. Period.

From the Publisher:
Ariel is afraid of her own mind. She already feels like she is too big, too queer, too rough to live up to her parents' exacting expectations, or to fit into what the world expects of a “good girl.” And as violent fantasies she can’t control take over every aspect of her life, she is convinced something much deeper is wrong with her. Ever since her older sister escaped to college, Ariel isn't sure if her careful rituals and practiced distance will be enough to keep those around her safe anymore.

Then a summer job at a carnival brings new friends into Ariel’s fractured world , and she finds herself questioning her desire to keep everyone out—of her head and her heart. But if they knew what she was really thinking, they would run in the other direction—right? Instead, with help and support, Ariel discovers a future where she can be at home in her mind and body, and for the first time learns there’s a name for what she struggles with—Obsessive Compulsive Disorder—and that she’s not broken, and not alone.

Publication Information:
Author: Olivia A. Cole
Publisher: Labyrinth Road (March 12, 2024)
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0593644669
Grade level: 9-12

This is amazing. Cole uses free verse to tell the story of Ariel, who is struggling with OCD. We get her perspective as she navigates life, dealing with everyday tasks like riding a bus that frighten her because of her intrusive thoughts. Ariel has family and friends and, even though she spent so much time in her head, this felt so hopeful because she learned how to face her own demons and win. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys books about learning about yourself, because I could identify with her even though I don't have OCD. The writing is just brilliant.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

It is an unusual book with a young woman in the throes of OCD and confused about her sexuality. As she finds new friends she unwinds.

This novel-in-verse is a powerful and insightful look into the complexities of living with OCD and violent intrusive thoughts. Through lyrical writing, Cole paints a haunting and hopeful portrait of Ariel, a girl struggling with her identity and mental health. I greatly appreciated the gentle and sensitive way in which the topic of OCD was handled. It sheds light on the delayed diagnosis and limited awareness around OCD, which effects 1-3% of the global population.

TW: OCD, intrusive thoughts, suicidal thoughts, homophobia, transphobia

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children's, & Labyrinth Road for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Labyrinth Road, and Olivia A. Cole for the opportunity to read Ariel Crashes a Train in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is written in a poetic verse style. The story follows Ariel, a girl who is tall and questioning her own identity and romantic preferences. She also struggles with these negative thoughts that pound through her head. She often refers to these thoughts as "the crocodile" within her mid.

Ariel works summers at the Wildwood carnival, thought a mishap with her friend leaves her wondering how this summer will go. She makes new friends and learns that there are people who care about her and people who she can open up to about her darker thoughts as well as her questions regarding self-discovery.

The novel explores Ariel's thoughts as being related to OCD-Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-and that ODC has many fronts, thus there are many ways to help dilute those thoughts and compulsions. Through guidance from Ariel's psychology major college student sister and her newfound friends, she finds ways to tame the negative thoughts and explore the world within the safety of her friends.

I enjoy everything about this novel. The verse format makes for an enjoyable read, almost more like vignettes at times, sectioning each scene or idea as its own focus. The exploration of romantic interest as well as body image adds to the LGBTQ aspect in a way young people who might be questioning themselves can relate to. And the big topic of the novel is OCD and hos it affects a persons mannerisms. There is even some resources and some interesting points to OCD that the author leaves at the end for the reader to further explore. I feel like this novel helps break the misconceptions that OCD is just one thing, and really opens up the topic and exploration of what OCD really is and how it can affect someone's thought process and ways of thinking.

This novel is truly a gem for any young adult reader.

Thanks to the Internet we all have the ability to be armchair, doctors that can self diagnose our own problems, and as a result, you often hear people throw around, ailments that really understand what they are. In this generation, one of them is OCD, people who like things neat or organized will say that they are OCD without really understanding what that actually means. in this book our main character Ariel is truly OCD and we see how difficult it is for for someone who has this to interact with the world. Ariel begins a new job and she finds herself in a position to make new friends and to find herself. Being in Ariel’s head is very tiring and I can only imagine what it’s like for someone who has OCD on a daily basis to get up and live their life. This is a novel told in verse, which, of course won’t be for everybody but for this particular topic and this character, it seemed to really work.

As someone with OCD (Pure O, which is often sometimes confused or diagnosed alongside anxiety)this was a little tough for me to read. I had to catch myself to make sure I wasn’t disappearing into her spirals with some of my own. But because it was tough to read, it made me so much happier, because it felt AUTHENTIC.

OCD is a neurological disorder that has excessive thoughts (obsessions) that lead to repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Ariel has been living with these thoughts for a long time. She called it a reptile, a monster, when it showed its teeth to her and shows her the violent intrusive thoughts. And overall, this was a very real look into the head of someone living with OCD. It was so hard to look into her mind. At some points it was scary, but it made me feel for her so much more. Ariel was walking around with these thoughts as a teen and had no idea what was going on. She needed way more support than her terrible parents.

Her parents were a whole other story. Are we seriously still living in the times where mental health is stigmatized and we run from things like therapy? The way they shunned her while she was completing rituals to “help keep them alive” from not killing them, was not ok. I found myself yelling at them a lot throughout the book. As for her friends, I was glad she had some people who cared about her. It was sad that her friends were the ones sticking up for her and convincing her something was wrong when her parents wanted her to pray about it.

I’m not always a fan of novels in verse because of the choppiness of the story. But in this case, the choppiness of the story worked really well because of the disorder she has. As someone who shares this, I can truthfully say there’s times when I’m researching things and I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and hours have passed and I don’t know. My thoughts are scattered and choppy, just like Ariel’s in this story. It fit the story well and really sold the narrative. I related to this so much, and after reading the author’s note, I know why. Cole also was diagnosed with OCD after the pandemic. Although I’ve had mine longer, I could see all the realness in this story. This is why representation is important. There’s so many people that still think OCD is just washing your hands, or who think my Pure O is just me having OCD. They truly don’t understnd the things that go through one’s head. I’m hoping whoever doesn’t believe or understands picks this book up and they begin to get a small idea.

There is also queer representation in this novel. As I’m not queer I won’t mention if it was good or bad. She knows she’s queer and has feelings develop for a girl she is friends with. Her gender is constantly confused and she is described as bigger than average. Her size seems to be a large reason she thinks her intrusive thoughts might be correct in terms of what she might do.

This book is gut wrenching, raw, and unflinchingly real. Cole is quickly becoming one author I know to absolutely trust even when reading a format I’m not the biggest fan of. Both this and Dear Medusa had me hooked from the very beginning and I am very excited to see what else she will come up with.

Started off really slow and I bit confusing for me, but not because it is badly written or anything. But because I was not expecting it to be written like poetry. One I began to understand the writing I was very invested in understanding the behaviors of OCD. Ariel was very brave for opening up to the people that she trusted. This helped everyone (except her parents) understand her and advocate for the help she needed. Being in her mind was terrifying! Especially in those moments that her friend tried to push her to face her biggest fears ( with good intentions of course). Definitely eye opening.

This is an empathetic novel in prose, all about Ariel, who has OCDs and intrusive thoughts, but sadly parents who refuse to acknowledge mental health issues and absolutely don't want to talk about therapy. She's also gay, and questioning severe gender roles and the heavy imposition they place on those who don't fit the mold. Does that sound like a lot? It is, but it all seems organic, not forced, and it's really a beautiful story. Should be required reading.

✨Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A Cole✨

This book was HEAVY. But I’ve said it a ton of times at this point, I love a novel in verse.

I’m not very familiar with OCD, and being in the main character Ariel’s head throughout the novel was tough. Sometimes listening to the audiobook I was like wait, DID she just do that? But then you realize it was her intrusive thoughts, and she’s struggling constantly with being afraid that she is eventually going to act on those thoughts and hurt someone she loves.

I thought that the author did a fantastic job of really making a visual of Ariel’s OCD, addressing it as a crocodile, giving it emotions and showing its growth overtime and how it’s impacted her.

This YA novel in verse tackles a LOT of topics, the main ones being mental health and gender identity.

If you read a lot of novels in verse, you know they tend to be on the heavier side, but they do so with powerful language, poetry and storytelling.

I don’t know that this lives up to Elizabeth Acevedo for me, but the author does a wonderful job narrating the audiobook.

Overall, a powerful story, and a recommend if you like novels in verse.

Content Warnings: Mental Illness, Suicidal Thoughts, Homophobia/Transphobia

ARIEL CRASHES A TRAIN by Olivia A. Cole is a tough, tough read, only because I saw way too much of myself in Ariel. Ariel’s struggle with intrusive thoughts, as well as the compulsions she uses to combat them, is one of the first realistic portrayals of OCD I’ve experienced in print. Ariel’s pain brought back all those times when I knew there was something that made me different, that was wrong with me, and was the reason why I felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere. That Ariel obtains the help she needs so much earlier in life than most people struggling with OCD is a comfort because it shows that people are finally beginning to realize that it is not cleanliness and everything at right angles. That Ms. Cole chose to write Ariel’s story in verse helped ease the pain of watching this poor girl fall through the cracks and needlessly suffer. While not an easy read, ARIEL CRASHES A TRAIN is a powerful one, made more impactful because of knowing that we both struggle with the same mental health disease.

Some books are difficult on purpose. <i>Ariel Crashes a Train</i> is one of them. Ariel is coping with undiagnosed OCD, which manifests in intrusive violent thoughts, and she's terrified that that means that she's a serial killer in the making. In any situation, her brain leaps to the worst conclusion or begins telling her to consider what would happen if she killed someone. None of that means that she <i>actually wants</i> to kills someone, but because she's never been diagnosed, or even told anyone about the intrusive thoughts, she believes that one day she will be unable to resist her mind's suggestions - or that maybe she already has and just doesn't remember it.

The writing is claustrophobic, again on purpose. Ariel is a prisoner of her mind, and even when she's talking with friends or at work, she can't escape herself. There's an attempt to also link her conflicted feelings about being a tall girl and a lesbian to her other mental struggles, and it more or less works, but I don't love the association this creates. It makes sense, yes - all three are things that set her apart from "normal." It's just more uncomfortable for a teen audience, no matter how true to life it may be.

Still, this is a remarkably strong novel in verse. Cole plays with formatting in ways that enhance Ariel's struggles, and she's a sympathetic character even if you can't relate to what she's going through. It's not an easy read, but one that's still easy to recommend.

Oh mental health and verse novels, love of my life. (just got a physical copy because at the time that I requested an ARC I was struggling reading digitally - I know I was so smart lol, will be updating on socials)

I loved this book. I really felt like I was inside the head of someone dealing with intrusive thoughts. Ariel was an interestingly complex character and the supporting characters were also well-developed. I had so much compassion for Ariel and was left with so much hope for her. Fantastic for people with OCD to see they’re not alone and for people who don’t have OCD so they can understand how it’s not all about washing hands and being organized.

This startling and ultimately uplifting book not only allows readers to see what life could be like for some people with OCD and intrusive thoughts, but it makes you FEEL as if it is you who is experiencing the OCD. Ariel's life is heartbreaking, and her constant unending efforts to not make it worse is exhausting, but you're pulling for her right from the start. Highly recommend this title and expect to hear more about it come awards season.