Review of Clean Up on Aisle Three

[Kayla Archer]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Clean Up on Aisle Three" by Jordan O'Halloran.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Clean Up on Aisle Three by Jordan O’Halloran is a young adult story addressing a teenager’s struggle with bipolar disorder in a dysfunctional family. Lucy McBride, a senior in high school, opens the book with a sad description of her life. Her mom discovered she was pregnant when she was sixteen, was kicked out of the house, and was forced to raise Lucy alone. Lucy has never met her biological father. She and her mom live with her mom's boyfriend, Chuck. Lucy works with Chuck at his grocery store named Smiles.

One terrible Sunday morning at Smiles, Lucy hears Chuck scream for her to call the police. Someone has been shot and killed in aisle three! The victim is Chuck's father. Lucy is sent in a whirlwind of emotions as she answers police questions. Traumatized by the event, she also discovers her mom has more secrets than she ever knew. An unknown aunt comes into the picture to announce that her grandfather has passed away. And all this happens while Lucy and her friends try to finish their senior year and enjoy prom without distractions.

Jordan O’Halloran states that she wishes to write about “the effects trauma has on one’s mental state and relationships” (amazon). I believe she aimed for this in her book, but I found this story unbelievable. Every character introduced has a unique concern: bipolar disorder, autism, bisexual feelings, homosexual feelings, etc. It frustrated me as a reader to have so much going on in a limited amount of time. The story was also skeletal: it had the shaping of a great plot, but it was rushed and needed details filled in to make it more believable. For example, the police came to search Lucy’s home, but they allowed everyone to hang out in the living room instead of evacuating the premises. Lucy’s long-lost aunt happens to have bipolar disorder and PTSD, so she is always relatable to Lucy no matter what Lucy faces. Lucy’s mom is so self-absorbed; she is portrayed as a teenager and not a mother figure. While all these unfortunate events are taking place, Lucy’s boyfriend gets angry because she isn’t paying enough attention to him. These and many other occurrences turned this story into an unbelievable tale that became tedious for me to complete.

I appreciate how O'Halloran brought a mature perspective to Lucy. “In the last few weeks, I feel like I’ve matured like 20 years” (O’Halloran 166). Lucy does begin piecing her life together and realizes what path she needs to take for her future in the final two chapters.

I respect that O’Halloran wrote this to give an understanding of bipolar disorder. I believe the story is a good start, but it is not great. There is excessive profanity. This is not a book I would offer to any young adult I know. It was also not professionally edited, making the reading distracting. Much of the story is quotations, and more often than not, the speaker is not identified. There were several instances where I had to reread items to uncover who was speaking. All this considered, I rate this book a 1 out of 4 stars.

I recommend this book to those who suffer from bipolar disorder or recognize someone who does. Those who have a mental health disorder may find this book relatable in some ways. I strongly caution that this is a fictional work and does not offer any encouragement or steps toward help. I think this could be a notable novel if the author took the time to work through the missing details.

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Clean Up on Aisle Three
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[Amy Luman]

Thank you for bringing all of these problems with the book to my attention. Any one of them would have prevented me from wanting to read it, but together they completely annoy me, which I’m sure they do to you, too. Hopefully, the author will correct the problems.

[Mr Excellence]

Irrespective of the storyline and Lucy's life challenges, I will bother not to read the book.
Meanwhile, your review was well written.

[Chiwendu Ikechukwu]

It is interesting to know that captivating reviews like this are gotten in this site. This book seems interesting. Adding it to my book shelf ASAP.

[Niquenya Collins]

As a parent if a bipolar adult child, I am intrigued by this book's subject matter but your well written review definitely gives me pause. Many of the challenges you have pointed out would absolutely annoy me as well.