“Dear Bill, This is Calvin again.”

From Martine Leavitt’s Calvin.

When seventeen-year-old Calvin hears and sees a tiger claiming to be Hobbes from the classic comic strip, he discovers that he has schizophrenia.  Calvin’s entire life has been filled with coincidences from the comic, including his neighbor Susie, his similar physical appearance to the comic’s Calvin, and the fact that he was born on the day the final strip was published. While his parents and doctor try to figure out a treatment plan for his new diagnosis, Calvin decides that since the comic has been so pivotal in his life, a new comic from Bill Watterson–the creator of the Calvin and Hobbes comicstrip–could be the cure for his Hobbes hallucinations. So after contacting Watterson’s agent and local newspaper in Watterson’s town, Calvin makes plans to sneak out of the hospital to make a pilgrimage of sorts across the frozen Lake Erie.  When Susie comes to visit Calvin, he tells her his plan and she refuses to let him take the dangerous journey without her, so Calvin finds himself torn between wanting to spend time with his attractive former friend and wanting to leave her behind to keep her safe. After buying all the gear he thinks that they’ll need to make the trip, Calvin and Susie bundle up and head out across the lake. Over the course of the next few days, Calvin and Susie meet several people on the ice, but the interactions are so interesting that Calvin struggles to decide what on is real and what is just another hallucination.

Leavitt’s novel is short, but it still manages to create interesting characters and an equally interesting story. The struggles and genuineness of the title character easily carries the story. Calvin is an easy read that will stick with readers, especially those familiar with the iconic comic strip.