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    The Liberation of Gabriel King
    Unavailable
    The Liberation of Gabriel King
    Unavailable
    The Liberation of Gabriel King
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Liberation of Gabriel King

    Written by K. L. Going

    Narrated by Rob Keefe

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Gabriel King believes he was born chicken. He's afraid of spiders, corpses, loose cows, and just about everything related to the fifth grade. If it's a choice between graduating or staying in the fourth grade forever, he's going to stay put-only his best friend, Frita Wilson, won't hear of it.

    "Gabe," says Frita, "we got to do something about you." When Frita makes up her mind, she's like a locomotive-there's no stopping her. "First, you're going to make a list. Write down everything you're afraid of."

    Gabe's list is a lot longer than he'd like Frita to know. Plus, he can't quite figure out how tackling his fears will make him brave. Surely jumping off the rope swing over the catfish pond can only lead to certain death . . . but maybe Frita knows what she's doing. It turns out she's got her own list, and while she's watching Gabe face all his fears, she's avoiding the fear that scares her the most.

    With wisdom and clarity, K. L. Going explores the nature of fear in what should be an idyllic summer for two friends from different backgrounds. For them, living in a small town in Georgia with an active Ku Klux Klan, the summer of 1976 is a momentous one. It's the summer they discover what courage is all about.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 28, 2005
    ISBN9780307245540
    Unavailable
    The Liberation of Gabriel King
    Author

    K. L. Going

    K. L. GOING is the author of FAT KID RULES THE WORLD, a Michael L. Printz honor book, and THE LIBERATION OF GABRIEL KING, a southern middle grade novel. She's had many jobs, including assistant at a Manhattan literary agency and manager of an independent bookstore, but now she writes full-time. She lives in Glen Spey, New York.

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    Reviews for The Liberation of Gabriel King

    4/5

    96 ratings24 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Gabriel King is a boy that is about to enter the 5th grade. He is reluctant but his friend tries to encourage him telling him it is going to be okay. The reason he doesn't want to go is because he has been bullied by the 5th graders that will go into the 6th grade. HIs friend and he list things that they are afraid of and try to accomplish them. We see that his friend has a strong character, but then it is shown later on in the book that she has deeper fears that Gabriel. We see how these two characters try to accomplish their fears in life.
    • 4/5
      Gabriel King is afraid of a lot of things but mainly 5th grade and Duke Evans. His best friend, Frita comes up with a plan to help Gabe out. They both make a list of everything they are scared of. Throughout the summer they work together to face their fears. This book is funny and serious at the same time. The reader realizes the difficulties that children do go through. The main thing that read can take from this is the lesson of racism. Frita is called a racist name and her life takes a step back. This book is still very much relatable today, especially living in the south. This book would be great to share with students around the same age of the main characters. It is very important to teach children the same lessons shown in the book.
    • 4/5
      This was a delightful pre-teen read that my grandson Josiah recommended. Set in Georgia, 1976, when Jimmy Carter was president, Gabriel is a fearful white boy, afraid of practically everything, whose best friend is a tough little black girl, Frita, always looking out for him. Both have just graduated fourth grade and Gabriel is determined not to go fifth grade because he's afraid of being bullied. Frita, not wanting to go to fifth grade without her best friend, has the idea that each make a list of things they are afraid of and sets them both on a journey to overcome their fears.I would recommend this book to any parent as, behind the larger issue of racial prejudice, lies the greater issue of childhood fears that need to be overcome. And I hope Going will write a sequel as I'm very much interested in reading what becomes of Gabriel and Frita.
    • 5/5
      What a precious children's novel. Set in Georgia, in the 1970's, Gabriel and his best friend Frita set out to squash the demons in their lives. Gabriel is a self-confessed chicken, but Frita is exactly his polar opposite. Frita is gutsy, ferocious and as Gabriel says - when Frita gets something in her mind, watch out! After an encounter with bullies, Gabriel decides he's not going to move up to the fifth grade. Frita is devastated, but not for long. She outlines a plan in which the two of them will overcome all their fears over the summer. As they tackle spiders, the highway and a host of other fears, Frita has to face being called "nigger" by a local Ku Klux Klan member. Gabriel and Frita's adventures leave adults weak in the knees for lack of bravery, but shine in their determination to grow as individuals.
    • 1/5
      Gabriel King is shy and weary of the neighborhood bullies. On the last day of fourth grade he decides fifth grade is not an option. The biggest, nastiest bully will be in his school. His spunky, feisty friend Frita decides that it is time for Gabriel to face his fears.Compiling a list of his fears, Frita systematically prods him to face them one by one over the summer in preparation for fall.This is a cute book, but a boring one. The characters were not well developed. Considering the fact that the author previously won the Michael L. Printz honor for her book Fat Kids Rule, I expected more from The Liberation of Gabriel King. Since I only paid .50 for the book at a used book store, I'm glad I didn't waste a lot of money.Not recommended.
    • 3/5
      Interesting, thought-provoking, but not especially thrilling story of learning courage in the midst of adversity. I appreciated the premise and yet I felt dragged down by the story's mini-adventures and somewhat boring characters. I applaud the effort more than the result.
    • 4/5
      Fourth grader Gabriel King has decided that he's not going to the fifth grade. It's too scary. So his best friend Frita comes up with the idea of writing down everything they're afraid of and using the summer of 1976 to face every single fear on their list so that they'll be braver. Gabe's list is quite long. But when he finds something that Frita truly fears in their town, he knows he'll have to be brave so he can stand beside her and help her fight it. This book was an unexpected joy to me. It started off as a goofy summer friendship story, but soon delves into more serious topics, namely race relations in 1970s small-town Georgia. It does this with aplomb, and I liked the serious bits just as much as the funny bits. This is fairly painless historical fiction, though some topics might do better with a bit of scaffolding. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book because it was very interesting learing how they solved their problems. I also like this because they stood up for what was right so they didn't get bullied.
    • 4/5
      It's 1976 in a small town in Georgia. Frita is the only black girl in the school, and Gabriel is her best friend. They are in fact, each other's only friends. Gabriel is afraid of everything, and decides that he is going to repeat 5th grade rather than move up to 6th with Frita, because of the bullies in 7th grade. So Frita concocts a plan to make Gabriel face his fears, and she agrees to make a list and face a few fears of her own. Ultimately, Frita must face the harsh racism of a Klansman who is the father of one of those 7th grade bullies. And Gabriel must decide if he's brave enough to stand beside her.A good tale about racism, friendship, loyalty, and courage. Born in October of 1965, I was exactly Frita and Gabriel's age in 1976. My own school in North Carolina was fully integrated, and about half black, half white. Personally, I never witnessed any big racial conflicts; but I also never witnessed the kind of black/white friendship this book portrays. I didn't find it believable; this close friendship between a black girl and a white boy in 1976... but it was lovely to read about it, and wish it was so.(Irrelevant side note: the publisher put the wrong type of spider in the jar on the cover. That is not a yellow garden spider.)
    • 5/5
      This is a chapter book taking place in the summer of 1976. It tells the story of two students about to start fifth grade. One is white, scaredy cat Gabriel King and the other is the brave and fierce African American, Frita Wilson. The two spend the summer doing things that scare them in order to finally cross their biggest fear off the list- starting fifth grade. I loved this book because it showed how much support a friend can give. It shows audiences to face their fears and live life how they want to not how others want them to. It shows readers to stand up for themselves.
    • 3/5
      The Liberation of Gabriel King by K. L. Going tells about a boy named Gabriel not wanting to go to fifth grade due to fear and Duke. His best friend, Frita, comes up with a plan to get over their fears. Over the duration of the both, friends go through many different events and eventually overcome their fears. I would read this to third through fifth graders.
    • 4/5
      Gabriel King is afraid of so many things, but mostly the fifth grade. He is tired of being bullied by Duke Evans and his crew, so he decides to give his best friend's, Frita Wilson, plan a try. She insist she will liberate him if it is the last thing she does. They face a fear from Gabriel's list each day, but things begin to change. Frita may have a few fears of her own she needs to conquer, but she won't be able to do so without the help of her best friend and family. This book is powerful. It shows the imagination and drive children can have, and the maturity with which they handle difficult situations, such as racism. Students would most definitely enjoy this book, and may even be able to pull some courage from the character's and tackle their own fears.
    • 3/5
      The Liberation of Gabriel King is about finding your courage. Gabe didn't want to go to the fifth grade. He and his friend Frita started to make a list of all of the things they were scared about entering the fifth grade. They started working on the list until Frita is called something racist. This book shows how racism is encountered everyday, and that people who bully need to realize what they are up against.
    • 4/5
      This is a story about a boy named Gabe who does not want to go to fifth grade. So, his friend Frita came up with a plan. They made list of what they were scared of and began working to mark them off. So, they begin marking some off. Then, one day Gabe asked Frita to talk to Mr. Evans and he made a racial remark. So, they told their parents and decided to speak at a local rally. By the end, Gabe had found his courage and decided he would go to the fifth grade! This is a really good story. This would be a great book to read as a class!
    • 5/5
      This book is still so relevant today. Two children have decided to not be afraid of their fears anymore. So, they create a list that they will check off one by one during the whole summer. Thinking that they are the biggest cowards in the whole town, they don't realize that they are actually the bravest. Insert, civil rights and a town clearly still segregated. This book still so relatable, and they characters hit home.
    • 4/5
      Gabriel is afraid of many things in his life, and Frita being the great friend that she is tries to help him get over his fear while getting over hers as well. One of her fears becomes evident when the parent of one of the bullies calls Frita an inappropriate and racist word. This book shows the great courage that these two children have and how they help each other "try" to overcome their biggest fears. Such an enjoyable book to read.
    • 5/5
      This was a very good book. The author takes an interesting approach to teaching children about racism and segregation. The amount of bravery and determination shown by the two best friends is astounding. They have encouraged me to face my fears.
    • 5/5
      I love this book. The story is about facing fears. Gabriel has many fears and for him to face it his friend, Frita told him to write down all his fears and they can face them together. Frita also wrote down her fears and together they try to accomplish all their fears by the end of the summer. It shows to me that everyone should have a friendship like that. This story will help teenagers know that its okay to have fears but try to overcome them.
    • 5/5
      Gabriel and Frita were best friends and were fourth grade graduates. But Gabriel was getting bullied and didn't want to go into the fifth grade. So Frita and Gabriel made a list of what they were most afraid of and that summer they were going overcome them. But what you realize in the story was that Frita's fears were greater than Gabriels. She had to overcome the racism of people towards her because she was an African American. She was also afraid of the Ku Klux Klan. They overcame most of there fears but they also began to fight for African American rights. This is an amazing book I loved it. It showed you how racism wasn't blind to anyone and how much people struggled and fought for their civil rights.
    • 5/5
      Gabriel King refuses to go to the fifth grade. He is very scared of the sixth graders among many other things. His best friend, Frita, comes up with the idea of creating a list of things they fear the most and do each of them in order to become brave. Gabriel thinks he will never be able to overcome his fears but he still tries to please Frita because her friendship means more to him than his own fears. The story takes an interesting twist when Frita's brother gives Gabe her list of things she fears the most. Gabe realizes that he had never seen the list before and while he is afraid of little and insignificant things, Frita is afraid of things that can be life changing for anyone.
    • 5/5
      Gabe's best friend is Frieda. She is black and Gabe is white. She is his only friend but that doesn't matter. He always gets picked on about hanging with a black girl but he doesn't see anything wrong with it. Gabe and his family are poor and live in a trailer. They are not racist. There is a boy that Gabe gets bullied by who is though. His name is Duke. His father is too, they call them the Evans. Duke lives down the street and he is older than him and Frieda. He also goes to school with him. Before Gabe and Frieda go to the 5th grade, they want to rid their fears. Over the summer they explore all of their fears until they realize that they just have to be brave. Great book to teach children that they have nothing to be afraid of.
    • 4/5
      Going writes a touching story with humor and realism. Gabriel is afraid of many things, especially going to fifth grade, and his friend Frita is determined to help him get over his fears. The action takes place in Georgia in 1976, the time when the South was finally forced to integrate its schools, twelve years after the Civil Rights Bill passed. Kids will enjoy the humor and realism and maybe get a better understanding of why African Americans have had to fight for what was right.
    • 5/5
      The story is about facing fear. In the story we get to see the characters Gabriel and Frita face their fears. Gabriel has many fears and his close friend Frita believes that he needs to get over them to become more comfortable. As Frita is helping Gabriel get over his fears so has some fears of her own to get over. They were able to help each other. I loved how the story plays out because not only were they able to help each other but they became educated on each others lives. Frita faced a lot of racism because she was one of the only black kids in town. So Gabriel got an appreciation of what his friend was going through. I think this story would be great for an older class. The story can teach children about risk taking and overcoming obstacles.
    • 5/5
      Another good kid's novel about facing fears.