Told in an upbeat, teenage first person narrative, this is a moving and insightful story about coping with a compulsive disorder. Zelah Green describes herself as a Cleanaholic. She spends her life on ‘Germ Alert’ because she’s unable not to worry about the smallest speck of dirt. Mostly it’s manageable; sometimes it is not. Zelah’s stepmother finds it hard and sends Zelah off to a home for ‘crazy people’ in the hope that Zelah can fix herself up. What Zelah finds and how ‘craziness’ really is, is kindly and touchingly observed.
My name is Zelah Green and I am a Cleanaholic. I spend most of my life on Germ Alert. Or Dirt Alert.
It's a miracle I ever get to school. My life was going OK despite that - you know, school, best friend, bad hair days - until four weeks ago. That's when Dad vanished. Now my stepmother has packed me off to a place with some crazy people. So I'm stuck with the Doc and Alice, Lib, Caro and Sol.Sol, who doesn't speak.
Sol, who has brown eyes and olive skin. Sol, who I actually want to touch. Now I'm on Flirt Alert! Maybe, just maybe, something good could happen...
This is a moving story of one girl's attempt to come to terms with her grief, told with humour and real insight.
Vanessa Curtis originally trained as a pianist before becoming a freelance journalist and contributing articles to a range of magazines and newspapers. She is the author of two biographies on Virginia Woolf, Virginia Woolf's Women and The Hidden Houses of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell as well as a reviewer of fiction and non-fiction for broadsheet newspapers. She is the co-editor of the Virginia Woolf Bulletin, a literary magazine, and also works as a freelance literary consultant. She lives and works near Chichester Harbour.
