Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have a special affection for books where the character is bullied. Of course, the love affair began with what I consider the first book about bullying: Blubber. Remember Blubber? They picked on the fat girl, the nice girl stood up for the fat girl, and then the nice girl got bullied, too.
This affection stems from the fact that I have been both the victim and giver (only once) of the bullying. It's a universal thing that happens to everyone at one point or another. Isn't it interesting that the victims of bullying usually end up being amazing people. They just happen to not conform to the usual patterns of other kids. And the bully ends up having problems of their own.
Miriam is known by many names. Her parents call her Miriam. Her friends, Artie and Rosie, call her Shakespeare because of her dramatic presence. But the kids at school call her Freak. Why? For the usual non-reasons bullies have. She doesn't have breasts yet. Her nose is too big. She journals. She likes Shakespeare. All together, the cumulative points of Miriam make her a freak. She gets bullied by a triumvirate of popular, pretty girls that smell like watermelon. In addition, Artie, the crush of Miriam's life has moved in with their family while his parents are on sabbatical. And Artie is getting hot and heavy with Miriam's older sister.
It's pretty standard bullying fare, but I still liked it, mostly because of Miriam's character. She is the kind of girl that will rock the world someday, but she is in that middle stage which is so painful. You know by the end of the book that if Miriam was older and not in the ugly middle school phase of her body, it would be a no-brainer who Artie would like.
Recommended for grades 6-8.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Freak
For Miriam Fisher, a budding poet who reads the Oxford English Dictionary for fun, seventh grade is a year etched in her memory "clear as pain." That's the year her older sister, Deborah, once her best buddy and fellow "alien," bloomed like a beautiful flower and joined the high school in-crowd. That's the year high school senior Artie Rosenberg, the "hottest guy in the drama club" and, Miriam thinks, her soul mate, comes to live with Miriam's family. And that's the year the popular "watermelon girls" turn up the heat in their cruel harassment of Miriam--ripping her life wide open in shocking, unexpected ways. Teased and taunted in school, Miriam is pushed toward breaking, until, in a gripping climax, she finds the inner strength to prove she's a force to be reckoned with.This riveting first novel introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine, an outsider who dares to confront the rigid conformity of junior high, and in the process manages not only to save herself but to inspire and transform others.
Get 22% OFF
0 comments:
Post a Comment