Button Pusher
Synopsis
Button Pusher is a true-to-life novel about the ups and downs of growing up with an ADHD diagnosis and the ever-changing treatments for this condition. The story follows Tyler, a pre-teen boy who is very bright and intelligent but struggles to focus in school and control his impulses. After being misdiagnosed and mislabeled, his family and doctor discovered that Tyler may have ADHD. On top of the new medication and his body's acceptance and rejection of said medication, Tyler struggles with his parents' constant fighting at home. Button Pusher is Tyler's emotional, eye-opening, and sometimes funny journey of navigating his life with ADHD.
Review and Recommendation
*Spoiler Alert* (A spoiler alert is being issued because there are mentions of specific plot points that relate to the rating of this review.)
Button Pusher was very well written and sketched. Some panels didn’t have words, but I could still see the story's progression and understand what was going on in the plot. The story is realistic (the novel is described as an autobiographical account of the author’s life) and emotional. As I was reading the book, I genuinely felt the main character's struggles and how difficult it is to have ADHD and not know why you think these impulses to do random things. I have taught multiple grade levels and seen what ADHD looks like in my classroom. I’ve read several books about ADHD, and not one has explained the impact of ADHD better than Button Pusher. I felt I could put myself in the shoes of someone with this diagnosis. I highly recommend parents, teachers, administrators, or anyone interested in understanding ADHD read this book. I believe that younger audiences would also enjoy this book. However, the jargon and themes of trauma and domestic abuse may be triggering or difficult for younger readers. I thought certain sections were written more for an older audience. For example, the story cuts between panels of a graphic novel to short blips about neurology and biology with the actual doctor's notes about the author. (The doctor's notes were an interesting touch that brought an even deeper meaning to the story's overall message.) Overall, I do recommend this book to anyone that is either struggling with ADHD or is interested in learning more about ADHD. Younger readers may want to be in middle or high school to understand the messages in Button Pusher.
Cautions
There are some instances in the novel that could be triggering for readers, such as domestic abuse and language. Language is a little bit harsh as the father in the story swears at his children and wife in the story. Most of the swearing is replaced with symbols to infer the offensive language used by the father. There are also scenes of domestic abuse where the father is verbally abusive and hits a wall.
