Freakboy

Bibliography: Clark, K. E. (2013). Freakboy. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR).

ISBN: 978-0374324728

Genre: realistic fiction, LGBTQ

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+/14+

Plot Summary: Brendan and his girlfriend have a good thing going. There’s just one problem… Sometimes Brendan wants to be a girl. But then again, sometimes he’s happy being a guy. As his confusion starts to grow, girlfriend Vanessa starts to feel a rift in their relationship. She knows he suffers from severe depression, but this latest episode seems so much more hopeless than it ever has before. He’s not talking, so she doesn’t know how to help. Brendan, in desperate turmoil, visits a transgender teen center. His tour guide, Angel, senses that he needs a friend who can truly understand his confusion. She certainly can sympathize since physically, she is male. Angel has struggled through years of abuse and is only now starting to find a sense of security. If she can help Brendan find that same security, she’s willing to push ethical boundaries and risk trouble at work. Brendan, grateful for someone who can accept him for who he truly is, doesn’t know how to explain this new friendship to Vanessa. She’s threatened. He’s once again at a loss on how to handle the situation. Brendan, Vanessa and Angel must all figure out how to move forward in a world that resists comprehension.

Critical Evaluation: My first impression of Freakboy was that the title itself could be off-putting to those who identify with the protagonist, Brendan. Although Brendan refers to himself as “freakboy” throughout the story, labeling him as such seems cruel and derogatory. After reading the book, though, and developing an understanding that “freakboy” is the way Brendan truly sees himself, the title is much more apropos and could quite possibly grab the attention of readers who see themselves in the same manner. Clark’s character development of Brendan and Angel was deliberate and lovely, nearly faultless in its execution. She draws readers in right at the heart. We felt Brendan’s anguish when Brendan threw the rock through the center’s window. We cried at the injustice of Angel’s abuse. Clark wrenches her readers’ hearts open and fills them with compassion and hope. Written entirely in verse, Clark has used rhythm, meter and careful word choices to create characters rich in emotion. Several of her verses even became shape poetry, yet this didn’t always work to the advantage of the story line. The shapes are often awkward and cumbersome, distracting in their efforts to underscore the theme of the given verse. This issue is slight (and was actually an unfortunate effect of the printing process) and does not distract from the incredible characters and story line that Kristin Clark has created.

Reader’s Annotation: Brendan loves the way the bra feels when it’s hooked around his torso. But he also loves his girlfriend. Does he have the courage to figure out who he really is?

Author Information: Kristin Elizabeth Clark lives and writes in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Northern California. She hikes with her dog and reads to her cats… but she’s not one of THOSE people. Really.

She has worked as a child advocate within the juvenile justice system, as a children’s theater producer, and is a proud volunteer at Project Outlet in Mountain View, California.

Her young adult debut, Freakboy, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on October 22nd, 2013.¹Curriculum ties: equal rights

Booktalks: self image

Challenge issues: LGBTQ, bullying, vandalism

Challenge resources (for use if a challenge situation arises):

• Library Selection Policy
• Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
• Active listening skills
• Awards
• Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
• Illinois Library Association (Banned Books Listings)
• National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
• Positive and negative reviews: expert, parent, student
• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom

• Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
• Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

Reasoning: Freakboy provides readers with insight to the isolation, pain and fear that can be a daily battle for those affected by LGBTQ issues. It can also provide a sense of solidarity and hope to those very people. Freakboy aligns with ALA values by encompassing the theme of diversity as well as many libraries’ call to educate and inspire.

References:

¹Clark, K. (n.d.). Bio. Retrieved November 4, 2015, from http://kristinelizabethclark.com/about

Freakboy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from http://us.macmillan.com/freakboy/kristinelizabethclark
Clark, K. E. (n.d.). Freakboy. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17261129-freakboy