Book review: ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ by Léa Taranto

 A Drop in the Ocean is the debut novel from Léa Taranto, a master of fine arts (MFA) graduate from the University of British Columbia. Often violent and harrowing, this coming-of-age story gives insight into the lives of those in a youth psychiatric facility. The book’s structure relies on the reader’s curiosity to find out what can go wrong when the mind closes upon itself. The novel accomplishes this through its  character-driven and journal-esque narrative. 

The main character Mira has a severe form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The severity of her OCD moves her from Ward 1 to Ward 2 (for hard cases). Right from the start, we get a taste of her character — emotional, impulsive, negative, self-blaming, guilty, and, of course, self-destructive. In this respect, Taranto has done an excellent portrayal of turbulent teenagehood. We also get a glimpse of what it’s like to be a teenager in 2006 in British Columbia (slang included). 

The novel reads as a combination of slice-of-life prose and a beginner’s introduction to mental health disorders. Perhaps an obvious comparison would be The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, which explores the topic of depression. Here, however, Mira intimately describes the nitty gritty of explicit medical descriptions, treatments, and the lives of jaded teenagers. This is where you will find tenth-graders smoking, doing drugs, and practicing tattoos on orange peels and friends’ skins. The plot moves through Mira’s explanations of various mental conditions that inhabit her. The main one, however, is the struggle to obey compulsions. It is, she explains, “like a mosquito bite: the more I scratch, the harder it itches, so I scratch, scratch, scratchscratchscratch until that’s all I do for hours every day.” 

Despite her conditions, Mira forms complex friendships with other teen patients around her, often relating and characterizing them through fantasy novels she reads. When her grandfather falls ill — and her condition worsens as a result of emotional upheaval it brings — Mira is forced to decide whether she will fight her compulsions and live a full life, or drown in them.

Mira’s descriptions of her “wrongness” span the entire work, which seems to be a conscious choice of the author. The shadow it casts over her every thought is enormous, and best exemplified in Mira’s boyfriend’s words: “It almost took your life and you’re still defending it. That’s the real relationship. You cheating on it with me.” 

There is a clear audience for this work — teens in mental health-care. This is a book by them, for them, and about them. For an average reader without experience with OCD, this serves as a raw account of personal struggle with oneself. It’s a window into the world behind sterile white walls. In a way that is compassionate, clear, and approachable, A Drop in the Ocean conveys a sense of solidarity to the difficult moments in a young person’s life.

A Drop in the Ocean will be available in May 2025 by Arsenal Pulp Press.