Popcorn

This comedy drama for children shines a light on the lived experience of children who cope with anxiety and OCD. Andrew is eager for picture day at school to go as smoothly as possible but a collection of unfortunate events – some small, some not-so-small – result in Andrew’s worry levels rising higher and higher, like kernels of corn slowly and steadily heating up in the pan before their inevitable… ‘POP!’

Andrew is nervous about school picture day. Like all children, he’s eager to look his best so that his mum will have a nice picture of him, but Andrew’s nerves come with extra intensity, because of how hard he finds it to cope when things get dirty or out of place. A school is no place to go if you are trying to avoid dirt or slime or lunch hall debris and Andrew’s chances of remaining immaculate are further hindered by flying dodgeballs and, even worse, a poorly timed experiment involving a flying tomato ketchup rocket!

Andrew takes his role as first person narrator very seriously and describes his own emotions in excruciating detail. Though many children will know what it is like to feel worried and nervous, the symptoms of clinical anxiety and OCD will be new to most, and Andrew goes to great lengths to help readers understand what he has to manage. As well as a number of helpful analogies (popping corn being the most prominent but certainly not the only one), there are occasional comic strips, which act as guidebooks about social anxiety, with funny pictures that illustrate physical manifestations of Andrew’s emotions.

The story is certainly effective in demonstrating mental health challenges to young readers and this is chiefly achieved by making things relevant to the reader. Andrew knows ‘the feeling of anxiety like [he knows] the taste of Nacho Cheese Doritos’, and he highlights for readers how anxiety is felt in familiar circumstances such as the taking of a test or worrying if other children are copying your work.

Even more interesting than how Andrew tackles these everyday school challenges, are the interesting ways that he faces other relatable problems. Though the archetypal school bully is a character in Andrew’s story, Andrew doesn’t just have to avoid him – or defeat him: he has to worry about how his own actions will be perceived by the bully! Similarly, Andrew has experience of an abusive father, and he worries about turning into a controlling character himself. Andrew even feels guilty about being angry when forced to share a room with his grandma, who has Alzheimer’s, and his panic levels truly rocket when he learns she has gone missing.

Though there are lots of books for younger readers that feature children coping with social, emotional and mental health challenges, this book feels unusually honest and open. Though Andrew benefits hugely from his good friend, Jonesy, and his loving family, and his calm and considerate teachers, he also has to manage a great deal himself, and it is very clear throughout that his challenges with anxiety will be with him forever and are not simply demons that can be overcome.

Popcorn is not a ‘laugh-out-loud’ comedy. It has important messages to share and is an interesting and uniquely frank description of the experience of many children. Sadly, such a narrative is a complicated thing to market and it is possible that some readers will be hoping that Popcorn delivers a higher number of laughs and silliness and may miss out on its merits as a result.