Popcorn

Published in 2024, Rob Harrell’s Popcorn is a middle-grade illustrated novel that explores the lived experience of anxiety and OCD. Set over the course of a single, catastrophically eventful school picture day, the story follows seventh-grader Andrew Yaeger as he navigates escalating stressors—from social mishaps to family crises—culminating in a public panic attack. Through a blend of narrative prose and expressive comic-style illustrations, the book offers an accessible and empathetic portrayal of mental health challenges for young readers. The novel explores themes of friendship, art, and self-acceptance and won the Schneider Family Book Award, which recognizes excellence in the portrayal of the disability experience in literature for youth.

Citations in this study guide refer to the e-book edition released by Penguin Random House in 2024.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of bullying, mental illness, and illness.

Plot Summary

Andrew Yaeger is a seventh-grader who has anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). At times, he experiences panic attacks, which he explains using the analogy of popcorn. Just as a kernel of corn pops if the internal pressure is high enough, a panic attack can result when anxiety builds up. Andrew’s worst nightmare is having a panic attack at school.

The story begins the morning of school picture day. Andrew’s mother, Susan, is starting a new job that day, and she and her son hope that this opportunity will improve their family’s precarious financial situation. Andrew’s grandmother, G, is a retired teacher who lives with them because she has Alzheimer’s and is no longer able to care for herself.

On the bus ride to school, Andrew sits with his best friend, Aisha Jones, nicknamed “Jonesy,” and is picked on by a bully named Gene Phillips. During his first class of the day, Andrew refuses to let Gene cheat off of his math test. He worries that the bully will retaliate, and the ensuing anxiety makes it difficult for him to complete the test even though math is one of his strongest subjects. After class, Gene catches Andrew and shoves him against a wall. A teacher intervenes, but Gene tears Andrew’s new shirt.

During gym class, a basketball hits Andrew in the face, cracking his glasses and giving him a bloody nose and a black eye. Nurse Finnegan tries to call Susan but gets her voicemail. The nurse tends to Andrew’s injuries and asks how he’s feeling. He opens up about what happened to his new shirt, and she offers to mend it for him. Nurse Finnegan notices Andrew tapping his fingers to soothe himself, but he doesn’t tell her about his anxiety or his OCD, because he feels embarrassed.

Principal Espinosa calls Andrew out of social studies class. The principal instructs Gene to buy Andrew an exact replacement of the shirt he tore and tells the bully to apologize. Although the apology is insincere, Andrew doesn’t press the issue, because he doesn’t want the bully to be even angrier toward him. When Andrew returns to class, his peers’ attention makes him nervous. Jonesy helps him relax a little by making funny faces.

At lunch, two girls from Jonesy’s basketball team named Kylee and Melissa invite Jonesy and Andrew to sit with them. Andrew declines because he feels nervous in new situations, and Jonesy urges him to give people a chance to befriend him. Jonesy receives a call from her mother, Mika, who is watching G that day. Mika tells Andrew that his grandmother is missing. Mika attempts to reassure Andrew that she and the police will handle the situation, but he feels on the verge of a panic attack.

Jonesy encourages Andrew to use some of the breathing techniques his therapist, Dr. Cain, taught him. Although this helps a little, he is angry and embarrassed that he’s attracted his peers’ attention once again, and he lashes out at Jonesy and Kylee. Before Andrew can apologize, a student named Kendrick accidentally squirts him with ketchup. Andrew cleans up in the bathroom and then returns to the nurse’s office. He opens up to Nurse Finnegan about G and her Alzheimer’s, and she finishes mending his new shirt.

During an experiment in science class, Gene tampers with the materials on Andrew’s table, causing Andrew to be struck in the face by a geyser of purple foam. Although Andrew is unharmed, his skin and his new shirt are covered in purple stains.

The principal calls Andrew and Jonesy to his office, where two police officers ask for the children’s help contacting Susan’s employer because she isn’t answering her cell phone. Andrew gives his mother’s new boss’s business card to the police, and they inform Susan of the situation. Hearing his mother’s voice brings tears to Andrew’s eyes, but he tries to assure her that he’s all right. He wants to go home and help his mother search for G, but the officers send him and Jonesy back to class.

Inside the art room, Andrew sees his battered and stained reflection and begins to have a panic attack. He tries to use the calming exercises his therapist taught him, but he is already hyperventilating. In his panicked state, the boy hits the art teacher, Mr. Kellerman. Andrew’s worst fear comes true as his classmates watch him sobbing uncontrollably.

Mr. Kellerman sends Jonesy to get Nurse Finnegan and then carefully guides Andrew outside. The teacher also has anxiety and panic attacks, and he coaches his student through a grounding exercise. Andrew apologizes for hitting Mr. Kellerman, but the teacher understands that Andrew wasn’t in control of his reactions. Mr. Kellerman assures him that it’s possible to learn how to manage his mental health conditions over time.

Jonesy and Nurse Finnegan find Andrew and Mr. Kellerman, and Andrew begins to feel calmer. Jonesy cries because she was scared for her friend, and he holds her hand. When Andrew returns to class, he’s surprised by the empathy and understanding of his classmates, some of whom have family members who also experience panic attacks.

Andrew is exhausted after the attack, so Mr. Kellerman brings him to the nurse’s office. Andrew catches a glimpse of G’s bright pink housecoat in the hallway and hurries after her. His grandmother thinks that she is decades in the past when she taught social studies at the school and the principal was one of her students. Andrew’s relief at seeing her safe and sound brings tears to his eyes, and he hugs her.

Andrew, Jonesy, Susan, Mika, G, and the police officers who visited the school earlier that day gather in the principal’s office. Everyone is relieved that G is unhurt, and she seems content albeit puzzled by all the commotion. Andrew asks his mother if she’ll be able to keep her job even though she left on her first day. She explains that her boss was understanding and even helped search for G because his father had Alzheimer’s.

When Andrew and Jonesy’s homeroom is called to take their school pictures, Susan and the principal both tell Andrew that he doesn’t have to go. However, he wants to take the picture because he’s proud of all that he has survived that day. While they’re waiting in line for their pictures, Andrew encourages Gene to make peace with the class because none of them want to fight him and some even remember positive moments with him from their elementary years. Gene mutters that he’s glad that Andrew’s grandmother is all right and then walks away. Andrew apologizes to Jonesy for his earlier rudeness and suggests that they sit with her teammates at lunch the next day. When it’s Andrew’s turn to have his picture taken, he poses with a goofy grin and takes some deep breaths.