Freak Show

I absolutely loved this book! It was one of the first books that I have read in a long time that made me laugh out loud in a good way, not the cynical “this is ridiculous” way. Lines like, “Lying on a mattress stuffed with gravel. Trying not to cut myself on the sheets. (Estimated thread count: three.) absolutely killed me. And the moments when Billy would address things like the reader reading the inside flap of the book made it so easy to really feel connected to him. He seemed to be sitting right beside while I read his story.

I think teens would really enjoy his candor and honesty (even when he admits to lying to the reader earlier in the book). The book is completely from his perspective, which he is constantly reminding us of. I know there are parts of the book that are difficult to get through because the pain and confusion is so real and the anger and rage is so stifling. But I feel like teens (even ones not having to deal with bigotry because of their sexual orientation) would be able to relate to the feelings of trying to survive a new school, fitting in, making new friends, falling in love, or wanting to hide completely from the world. I feel like this is all brought together when Billy gives his speech at the pep rally about all teenagers being freaks. “We are freaks, because we’re teenagers. We are, by nature, oily, throbbing, mutating, misshapen space aliens.” I could go on because I love the whole speech, but I won’t for sake of space.

I know that there may be some apprehension to recommend this book to a teen because of some of the issues it discusses, but I think that most teens that read this book would find part of themselves in Billy Bloom.