List of Ten

A harrowing yet hopeful account of a teen living with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder . . . and contemplating his own mortality.

Ten: three little letters, one ordinary number. No big deal, right? But for Troy Hayes, a 16-year-old suffering from Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the number ten dictates his life, forcing him to do everything by its exacting rhythm. Finally, fed up with the daily humiliation, loneliness, and physical pain he endures, Troy writes a list of ten things to do by the tenth anniversary of his diagnosis—culminating in suicide on the actual day. But the process of working his way through the list changes Troy’s life: he becomes friends with Khory, a smart, beautiful classmate who has her own troubled history. Khory unwittingly helps Troy cross off items on his list, moving him ever closer to his grand finale, even as she shows him that life may have more possibilities than he imagined. This is a dark, intense story, but it’s also realistic, hopeful, and deeply authentic.

This book contains trigger warnings. Tics, self harm, and suicide ideations.

AAUW North Carolina Award for Young People's Literature 2021

MISelf, Michigan Association of School Librarians 2021

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2022 Nominee

Oklahoma Library Association's High School Sequoyah Masterlist 2023

"An authentic and compassionate look at the ups and down of teenage life and living with Tourette syndrome" - Kirkus

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/halli-gomez/list-of-ten/

"Told in the first person, this powerful novel takes readers into the emotional and physical depths of TS, feeling every pain and twitch... Readers will ponder how friendship means more than being perfect." - School Library Journal

https://www.slj.com/?global_search=list+of+ten+halli+gomez

"I'm just... wrecked. It's a stunning, difficult, powerful, heartfelt book, and it made me cry." - Nicole Lesperance, author of The Wide Starlight and The Nightmare Thief

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Signed/personalized copies can be purchased at Park Road Books

Purchase at Indiebound, Barnes and Noble

Watch the List of Ten Book Launch here.