By Rye Hickman

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2024 Eisner-Nominated for Best Publication for Kids • A 2024 ALA Notable Children's Book • New York Public Library Best Book of 2023

★ "Heartwarming [and] authentic" —Shelf Awareness, starred review

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.

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A 2024 ALA Notable Children's Book
A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023
"A sweet story that fans of Raina Telgemeier will enjoy."
School Library Journal
“A heartwarming, authentic middle-grade graphic novel…Buzzing blooms with insight, inspiration, and compassion.”
Shelf Awareness, starred review
"A positive, sympathetic introduction to living with OCD."
Kirkus Reviews
"…a cleverly rendered interpretation of OCD embedded in a wholesome graphic novel drama."
Publishers Weekly
“There are lots of graphic novels about kids experiencing anxiety or intrusive thoughts, but not many featuring boys, which makes this stand out. Hand to kids who related to Lee Durfey-Lavoie and Veronica Agarwal's ‘Just Roll with It’ (2021) or Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brook's ‘Growing Pangs’ (2022).”
Booklist
“The power of a role-playing group can’t fix everything, but it goes a long way. Isaac is a teen with OCD [and] suffers from near-constant intrusive thoughts, cleverly visualized here as bees with mean voices. Over the story, he builds confidence and community by leaning into his love of fantasy and drawing; as a former fellow misfit teen artist, it was wonderful to watch him grow. This is a nuanced and diverse coming-of-age story. I’m so excited for all of the readers who will discover it and see themselves in it.”
Maia Kobabe, author of Gender Queer: A Memoir
“With Buzzing, Sattin and Hickman show that epic adventures hide in the most unlikely places. The story reads like an immersive role-playing game where colorful characters, lavish landscapes, and harrowing challenges await you at every turn. The brilliance of Buzzing is that it masterfully illustrates how stories and games have the power to transform our lives.”
David Gallaher, author of The Only Living Boy and The Only Living Girl
“Brilliant and timely, Buzzing uses tabletop role-playing games as a method to make your own choices with conviction and, in so doing, handles the idiosyncrasies of having OCD with both care and sincerity.”
Steenz, illustrator of Archival Quality and Heart of the City

On Sale: Jul 18, 2023
Page Count: 224 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Ink
ISBN-13: 9780316628419

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Samuel Sattin

About the Author

Samuel Sattin is a writer and coffee addict. In May of 2022, he launched a Kickstarter with the artist team Gurihiru for Unico: Awakening in coordination with Tezuka Productions in Japan. He is also the writer of Buzzing, and the forthcoming history of roleplaying games, Side Quest. He adapted the Academy Award-nominated Cartoon Saloon Irish Folklore Trilogy (WolfWalkers, Song of the Sea, and The Secret of Kells) to graphic novel format, has written screenplays for PBS, and previously wrote books such as Bezkamp, Legend, and The Silent End. His nonfiction work has appeared or been featured in The Nib, The Atlantic, NPR, and elsewhere. He graduated with an MFA in comics from California College of the Arts and a creative writing MFA from Mills College, freelances in animation development, and works as a studio writer for Schulz Creative Associates, aka Snoopy Central. He currently resides in Northern California.

Patrick Macias is the editor in chief of Otaku USA magazine, the founding editor of Crunchyroll News, and the author of numerous books about Japanese pop culture including TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. In addition to contributing liner notes to the Criterion Collection and Arrow Video, he also wrote the original story for the anime series URAHARA which was simulcast globally in 2017. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Patrick now lives in Tokyo, Japan.

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