Elizabeth Atkinson

Representation: Implied Black characters
Trigger warnings: Adoption
Score: Six points out of ten.
Note that I got this book and now I own it. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

The library I got this from held a giveaway with this book being one of those they were donating because they were too old and few people read them. So, I picked it up and finally read it, but when I finished it, I thought it was only okay and I can understand why the library would remove it (most likely to make room for new ones.) It starts with the first character I see, Emma Freke, or Emma for short, but here's the point: Emma doesn't like her surname. At least how people pronounce it as they pronounce it like the word freak and the full name sounds like Am A Freak (her height and red hair also factor into that name.) But other than that she seems typical to me and she has no other problems I know of and I don't consider her unconventional family as a problem that affects Emma. Like in other novels, the characters missed the mark as I couldn't relate or connect to them. Nothing much happens for the first half but the second one is where the plot thickens as Emma is invited to a family reunion somewhere in America which she attends. Everything looks typical at first (did I mention they pronounce Freke as Frecky?) until one of the family members stirs conflict (but that ended swiftly) and afterwards the conclusion is a high note.… (altro)

I've decided to return to young adult books periodically. They contain such heart-felt wisdom, of children of varying ages handling situations that were presented to them, and they must be dealt with. The only way out is through, and these tough kids have to learn at an early age, that for many, their lives are tragic and very challenging.

In this gem of a book, Emma Freke defines herself by her name. She feels that she really is a Freak. Very tall with flaming red hair, kids at school are mean and love to taunt her with her name. What a Freke (Freak)! And, like many, when their peers are nasty, they head back inward to that safe spot where they might process internally and find ways to become and overcome! Emma finds solace at the local library where the librarian guides her and introduces her to those who feel as she does.

Emma hates her life. Her mother was young when she was born. She has no idea of who her father is, and believes her mother doesn't know either. Believed to be on a spectrum of challenged in ability to learn schoolwork, truly it is her life that holds her back. She is strong, but it is very difficult when her mother doesn't care enough to cook, or go to her school meetings with the guidance counselor. In many ways, Emma is the mother in this situation, and trying to navigate life with a hippie mom who refuses to accept responsibility in life, makes it harder to concentrate in a hostile school environment.

Emma has a small, spunky, outspoken friend who helps her to work through some rather heavy things. How do you operate when at your mother finally remembers it is your birthday, buys a small store made cake and announces you do not need school because her present is the best -- a rambling box of various out dated encyclopedias, many editions are missing.

When Emma attends a reunion, encouraged by her mother, to meet some of her relatives, this is at the demand of Emma who insists knowing about her father and his family. At the reunion she finds solace being with people who look like she does, but are on the range of obsessive control rules. A mother who has no rules, and now a family that has too many rules.

Through it all, she overcomes, and embraces her mother's wackiness, coming to the conclusion that she really does care.… (altro)