When it comes to my most-loved book genres, young adult fiction has to be right up there on my list. Yes, I know, I’m almost 30, but I suspect that I will always have a special place in my heart for YA fiction. There’s something so compelling in well-written YA – the alienation, the feelings of displacement, the longing for belonging….ah, nothing like angsty YA, I tell you.
Total Constant Order has to be one of my favourite YA books. I don’t know anyone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), so reading this book gave me a sneak peek into what it must be like for someone to live with that, day in, and day out, and what it’s like for the people who love them. I really like Fin, the protagonist – she’s spunky, likeable, and of course, troubled, but ultimately, she rises to the challenge of embracing who she is, OCD and all. I like that it ends on a hopeful, but not picture-perfect note. That makes it more relatable, which I feel makes the best kind of story.
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Published by Raidah Shah Idil
Raidah Shah Idil is a student counsellor, poet, writer, and creative instructor with a passion for YA (young adult), fantasy, sci-fi and detective fiction. She was born in Singapore and moved to Australia at the age of 12. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (English) and Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from the University of New South Wales in 2005.
After working as a marketing copywriter and studying the Islamic Sciences in Amman, Jordan for nearly two years, she returned to Sydney, got married, then moved to Malaysia. While working as a part-time tutor at Axiom Learning, she works as an online counsellor for Seekershub Global. She has completed her Diploma of Counselling through the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. Her full-time job is raising her baby daughter. Everything else is squeezed in between. Literally. Her writing has been published in The Feminist Wire, SISTERS magazine, Daily Life, Lip Mag and Venture Beat. Raidah’s poetry was recently published in the ‘Armed With Only Our Souls’ online DDFS chapbook by New York poet Caits Meissner. Her debut double-featured novel, “Finding Jamilah and the Story of Yusuf” was published by MyLegacy publications in early 2014.
In her spare time (ha), she reads, listens to audiobooks, goes on walks, and is always on the lookout for tasty noodle soup. She currently lives in a green, leafy suburb in Kuala Lumpur with her husband, three small children and mother-in-law.
View all posts by Raidah Shah Idil
When it comes to my most-loved book genres, young adult fiction has to be right up there on my list. Yes, I know, I’m almost 30, but I suspect that I will always have a special place in my heart for YA fiction. There’s something so compelling in well-written YA – the alienation, the feelings of displacement, the longing for belonging….ah, nothing like angsty YA, I tell you.
Raidah Shah Idil 