Freaks Like Us

VOYA - Hilary Crew

Seventeen-year-old Jason (Freak), Derrick (Drip), and Sunshine are best friends and refer to themselves as "alphabet" people, after the acronyms used for their disorders. On Monday, September 6, all three get off the school bus at the same stop but Sunshine never arrives home. When FBI Agent Robert Mercer arrives, Jason, a schizophrenic, finds himself under suspicion and is arrested when he is seen wearing Sunshine's gold locket which he found in their secret spot. As he is grilled by Mercer and searches for Sunshine with Derrick, Jason's first-person narration reproduces the confusion he experiences as a schizophrenic: the different voices accusing him for his stupidity and for hurting Sunshine, and the difficulty he has in distinguishing what is real from what is not. In stream-of-consciousness passages, he remembers good times between Sunshine and himself, and how he depends on her help. He remembers that on Saturday, she made him promise not to tell about her being upset, but worries that he hurt her even as he knows that he would never do so. The taut plot's chapter headings mark the passing hours. The reason for Sunshine's disappearance is solved when Jason thinks through what he knows with the help of Mercer and Sunshine's brother. Bullies and sex-offenders are exposed in a story that has, at its heart, respect for the disabled. Some characters (for example, Derrick and Mercer) are somewhat stereotyped. The tender romance between Jason and Sunshine offsets a didactic tone in this novel that has teen appeal. Reviewer: Hilary Crew

Children's Literature - Susan Cotter

No one ever listens to the alphabet kids. Whether they are ADHD, ODD or SCZI —schizophrenic—like Jason "Freak" Milwalkee, people are not interested in what they have to say. That is, until Freak's best friend Sunshine disappears. The FBI gets called in to find her and just about everyone in town pitches in to help. For some reason, they all seem to think Jason has something to do with her disappearance. His own parents do not even believe he is not involved. Jason wants to help, but as his meds wear off he becomes even less sure that he is not responsible. The clock is ticking. Jason has to decide whom to trust. If only the voices inside his head would shut up so he could think. A compelling psychological mystery told in an authentic voice that will keep teens turning the page. Readers may wonder, however, is there anyone in this town who is normal?

Kirkus Reviews

Jason is "Freak" to his peers and even his ADHD friend Drip, but not to Sunshine, who--though selectively mute--shares her thoughts and feelings with him. Now she's vanished, and Jason, whose schizophrenia has shaped his life, is a suspect in her disappearance. Seniors Jason, Drip and Sunshine have ridden the short bus and gone through school labeled SED--that's "Severely Emotionally Disturbed, for you long-bus people." Bullying at the hands of kids with behavioral disabilities goes unreported and unpunished, but the trio's alliance made life bearable in their catchall special ed program, where kids with vastly different abilities and disabilities are treated as extensions of their diagnosis acronyms. (Jason, whose irony is well-honed, calls them "alphabets.") Desperate to find Sunshine, Jason and Drip are wary of sharing all they know with adults who see them as extensions of their stigma. As the FBI investigates, Jason's always-shaky world threatens to come apart. Not taking "fuzzy pills" keeps his brain sharp, but the voices plaguing him grow louder. Jason carries Sunshine's secrets--should he break his promise not to tell? While the action is occasionally slow and repetitive--suspense arising more from Jason's internal battles than external action--readers will stick with him; he's sympathetic, compelling and smart. Navigating a harsh world, the psychologist author makes clear, amounts to an education in itself. An illuminating, recommended read. (Fiction. 12 & up)