Calvin

August 31, 2015
In a thoughtful story presented as a single, extended letter, Leavitt (Blue Mountain) explores the impact of mental illness through the experiences of a 17-year-old diagnosed with schizophrenia. Calvin is obsessed with Bill Watterson and his comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. It makes sense: he used to have a best friend named Susie and a stuffed tiger named Hobbes, and now Hobbes has returned as a full-fledged, uncontrollable hallucination. Calvin figures that if he can just get Watterson to create a strip depicting the fictional Calvin as a healthy teenager, he’ll be fine as well, so he sets off on a perilous journey across a frozen Lake Erie from Canada to Cleveland. He’s accompanied by Susie, who may or may not be part of his delusions; either way, she’s the voice of reason as they meet an assortment of oddball characters on the lake and delve into philosophical matters. Funny, intellectual, and entertaining, it’s a sensitive yet irreverent adventure about a serious subject. Ages 12–up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenberger Associates.

Starred review from September 1, 2015
Calvin's personality seems to have been destined: he was born on the day comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" ended, his grandfather gave the infant a Hobbes-like tiger toy that was his constant childhood companion, and his best (and only) friend was always Susie. But now important senior-year assignments are going undone, Susie has abandoned him for more popular kids, and suddenly Calvin is convinced that Hobbes is right there with him. It's schizophrenia. Calvin is placed on a locked ward for treatment. He decides his last, best hope is to go on a dangerous pilgrimage-to hike all the way across frozen Lake Erie from his Canadian home to Cleveland, where the comic-strip creator lives. Watterson could, perhaps, save him if he'd just agree to write one last comic strip featuring a healthy Calvin and no Hobbes. Susie, loyal still in spite of her previous behavior, accompanies him. The evolving relationship between the two shines a light on Calvin's unbroken soul. Hobbes' biting commentary keeps Calvin grounded enough to make most things work, as Calvin's voice, bewildered, frustrated, sometimes tragic, but always determined and surprisingly insightful, provides counterpoint to alter ego Hobbes'. Equal parts coming-of-age tale, survival adventure, and love story, this outstanding novel also sensitively deals with an uncommon but very real teen issue, making it far more than the sum of its parts. (Fiction. 12-18)

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September 1, 2015

Gr 8 Up-Coincidences abound in Calvin's life: he was born on the day the last Calvin & Hobbes cartoon strip was published, his grandpa gave him a stuffed tiger called Hobbes when he was a kid, and his best friend was even named Susie. However, she became beautiful and stopped being his friend. When Calvin is diagnosed with schizophrenia, he believes that Bill Watterson is the key to curing him of the illness and he must escape the hospital to meet the famously reclusive artist. The teen, along with an eight-foot-tall version of Hobbes (who is imaginary) and Susie (who may or may not be imaginary), journeys across frozen Lake Erie to track down Watterson. This is a gentle and unique story about a boy struggling with schizophrenia; while Calvin is indeed having grandiose visions that include a beloved cartoon character, he is funny, charming, and smart. Even though Calvin's stream-of-consciousness rants can drag the story down, the premise that Susie may or may not be on this dangerous trek with the protagonist will keep readers interested. There are genuinely beautiful moments in the writing throughout; however, the ending is too pat and feels contrived, which will leave some readers unsatisfied. VERDICT Sweet, romantic, and funny, but flawed.-Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2015
Grades 8-11 *Starred Review* In this YA answer to Harvey, 17-year-old Calvin suffers from schizophrenia, causing him to see and hear a large, invisible tiger: Hobbes, of course. It's a quick hop from imaginary tiger to psych ward, where Calvin grows convinced his cure lies not in medication but in persuading cartoonist Bill Watterson to write one more Calvin and Hobbes stripone where a healthy teenage Calvin exists without Hobbes. All hinges on making a dangerous pilgrimage across frozen Lake Erie to Watterson in Cleveland. Accompanied by his best friend Susie, the teens' icy trek is punctuated by philosophical discussions, random encounters, realizations of love, and Hobbes' humorous comments. Though he is highly intelligent, Calvin's sense of reality is blurred, casting the journey in a slightly surreal light. Allusions to Calvin and Hobbes and a lighthearted tone blanket cracks in the plan and mounting tensions resulting from Calvin's illness, as when he wastes limited supplies to feed Hobbes. Written as if addressed to Watterson himself, the novel has a fresh, funny voice that never diminishes the seriousness of schizophrenia. National Book Award finalist Leavitt (Keturah and Lord Death, 2006) delivers an imaginative exploration of mental illness, examining what's real and what's true in this magical world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)