Buzzing (a Graphic Novel)

A moving middle grade graphic novel about friendship, belonging, and learning to love yourself despite the voices in your head.

Isaac Itkin can't get away from his thoughts.

As a lonely twelve-year-old kid with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), everything from studying to looking in the mirror becomes a battle between him and a swarm of unhelpful thoughts.

The strict therapy his mother insists on doesn't seem to be working, but when a group of friends invites him to join their after-school role-playing game, the thoughts feel a little less loud, and the world feels a little brighter.

But Isaac's therapist says that exposure to games can have negative effects on kids with OCD, and when his grades slip, his helicopter mother won't let him play anymore. Now Isaac needs to find a way to prove to himself, to his mother, and to the world that the way to quiet the noise in his head may have been inside him all along.

Author: Samuel Sattin, Rye Hickman
Publisher: Little, Brown Ink
Published: 07/18/2023
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.80w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780316628419
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2023
School Library Journal 06/01/2023 pg. 81
Booklist 07/01/2023 pg. 50
Shelf Awareness 07/21/2023

About the Author
Samuel Sattin is an author and coffee addict. He is the adapter of Cartoon Saloon's Academy Award Nominated Irish Folklore trilogy to graphic novel format, and is writing a reimagining of the Osamu Tezuka character, Unico, for a new manga series. His past work includes Bezkamp and The Silent End. He graduated with an MFA in Comics from California College of the Arts and a Creative Writing MFA from Mills College, and lives in Oakland, California.

Rye Hickman is a visual storyteller and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design's Sequential Art program. Past work includes Lonely Receiver, TEST, Moth & Whisper, and more. They get really excited about dystopian fiction, good coffee, and drawing hands. You can find out more about Hickman at ryehickman.com, their Instagram @ryehickmandraws, and twitter @ryehickman.