Scan barcode
A review by kaje_harper
Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
5.0
I stayed up until 2 AM reading this. It hit home, an arrow to the heart.
You may read "prose-poem" in the book description but don't be put off by that. This is a fairly straight-forward narrative, although it's written with less words per line, in a poem-like structure without a lot of description. It still reads smoothly and easily. It still moves, inexorably, through the story of a boy who has always liked girls, and girl things, and who comes to the realization that the way he likes them isn't quite the way most of his friends do.
There are three first-person POVs in this book. One is written in bold, the other two marked by the name at the top of the section. Angel, in bold, is M2F trans. Her sections fit her font - strong, confident with a hard-won self-acceptance. Angel has always known who she is; her fight has been to convince the rest of the world. Bad stuff has happened to Angel, but she owns her truth and will rise above it.
Vanessa is a high-school girl who wrestles with the male athletes on her school team. She has moments of confusion, of wondering if that makes her somehow the freak that some of the other kids claim. But mostly she wonders about usual high-school stuff. Particularly about her boyfriend, Brendan, who is sweet and loving and moody, and hard to pin down.
The central POV is Brendan's.
Brendan is also a wrestler in high-school. He has a girlfriend. He likes looking at girls, he has friends, he thinks about sex. But when he looks at a pretty girl, sometimes he envies her, rather than wanting to do her. His life doesn't fit him quite right, and he can't figure out why he's sometimes so uncomfortable in his own skin. He has moments that are wonderful, and then moments where he can't stand to be himself. The realizations are nagging him, pushing, demanding he look them in the face.
This book was both deeply familiar and occasionally revelatory. I know at least two trans teenagers well, (one of whom incidentally got their sex-designation on their driver's license changed while attending The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. That's a very quirky school in many ways, but a quarter of the student body identifies as LGBTQIAP so it can be a safe-harbor school.) I know at least three gender-fluid teens, two of whom are very much in flux, deciding how they feel about their bodies and their identities, moment to moment, day to day. This book felt like traveling down a familiar path, where those teens will see themselves in Brendan, in Angel, and even to a smaller degree in Vanessa.
There were also moments of startled realization, particularly when Angel talks about being young and M2F trans and out on the street. The kids I know are lucky in still being within their families, although the level of acceptance varies. But it's a cold, hard world out there, and many trans kids don't have that shelter. There were moments when I read Angel's POV and thought, "Damn, yes, of course that could happen." We all need to work harder to build these teens an accepting world.
If I had one criticism, it would be the POV shifts between Brendan and Vanessa, which are marked only when they first happen, and last for several brief chapters. Once or twice, I lost the thread of whose POV I was in for a moment. Vanessa's voice is not as strong or as interesting as the other two, not only because she's a more conventional character. Her issues with Brendan were real and salient, but I didn't feel her emotions the same way. For Brendan, I ached, and for Angel, I hurt. Although I didn't cry, because Angel has her shit together, and would probably be insulted.
This is a straight-forward, engrossing, subtly-emotional and thought-provoking read. It's not the oblique, image-filled prose-poetry of David Levithan. (Read [b:The Realm of Possibility|23232|The Realm of Possibility|David Levithan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388235478s/23232.jpg|1009041] for that type of lyrical, shimmering, heart-deep insight on a far less concrete level.) Here the simple structure and words drive home the meaning, the impact, the revelations and the changes, but in a way not that different from reading a regular novel. It's not abstract, or obtuse, or difficult to follow. It is very well done. If you want to have more insight into the world of a non-gender-conforming teenager, read this book.
You may read "prose-poem" in the book description but don't be put off by that. This is a fairly straight-forward narrative, although it's written with less words per line, in a poem-like structure without a lot of description. It still reads smoothly and easily. It still moves, inexorably, through the story of a boy who has always liked girls, and girl things, and who comes to the realization that the way he likes them isn't quite the way most of his friends do.
There are three first-person POVs in this book. One is written in bold, the other two marked by the name at the top of the section. Angel, in bold, is M2F trans. Her sections fit her font - strong, confident with a hard-won self-acceptance. Angel has always known who she is; her fight has been to convince the rest of the world. Bad stuff has happened to Angel, but she owns her truth and will rise above it.
Vanessa is a high-school girl who wrestles with the male athletes on her school team. She has moments of confusion, of wondering if that makes her somehow the freak that some of the other kids claim. But mostly she wonders about usual high-school stuff. Particularly about her boyfriend, Brendan, who is sweet and loving and moody, and hard to pin down.
The central POV is Brendan's.
Brendan is also a wrestler in high-school. He has a girlfriend. He likes looking at girls, he has friends, he thinks about sex. But when he looks at a pretty girl, sometimes he envies her, rather than wanting to do her. His life doesn't fit him quite right, and he can't figure out why he's sometimes so uncomfortable in his own skin. He has moments that are wonderful, and then moments where he can't stand to be himself. The realizations are nagging him, pushing, demanding he look them in the face.
This book was both deeply familiar and occasionally revelatory. I know at least two trans teenagers well, (one of whom incidentally got their sex-designation on their driver's license changed while attending The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. That's a very quirky school in many ways, but a quarter of the student body identifies as LGBTQIAP so it can be a safe-harbor school.) I know at least three gender-fluid teens, two of whom are very much in flux, deciding how they feel about their bodies and their identities, moment to moment, day to day. This book felt like traveling down a familiar path, where those teens will see themselves in Brendan, in Angel, and even to a smaller degree in Vanessa.
There were also moments of startled realization, particularly when Angel talks about being young and M2F trans and out on the street. The kids I know are lucky in still being within their families, although the level of acceptance varies. But it's a cold, hard world out there, and many trans kids don't have that shelter. There were moments when I read Angel's POV and thought, "Damn, yes, of course that could happen." We all need to work harder to build these teens an accepting world.
If I had one criticism, it would be the POV shifts between Brendan and Vanessa, which are marked only when they first happen, and last for several brief chapters. Once or twice, I lost the thread of whose POV I was in for a moment. Vanessa's voice is not as strong or as interesting as the other two, not only because she's a more conventional character. Her issues with Brendan were real and salient, but I didn't feel her emotions the same way. For Brendan, I ached, and for Angel, I hurt. Although I didn't cry, because Angel has her shit together, and would probably be insulted.
This is a straight-forward, engrossing, subtly-emotional and thought-provoking read. It's not the oblique, image-filled prose-poetry of David Levithan. (Read [b:The Realm of Possibility|23232|The Realm of Possibility|David Levithan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388235478s/23232.jpg|1009041] for that type of lyrical, shimmering, heart-deep insight on a far less concrete level.) Here the simple structure and words drive home the meaning, the impact, the revelations and the changes, but in a way not that different from reading a regular novel. It's not abstract, or obtuse, or difficult to follow. It is very well done. If you want to have more insight into the world of a non-gender-conforming teenager, read this book.