Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    I, Emma Freke
    I, Emma Freke
    I, Emma Freke
    Audiobook5 hours

    I, Emma Freke

    Written by Elizabeth Atkinson

    Narrated by Ali Ahn

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Author Elizabeth Atkinson's debut novel for middleschoolers was included in the Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of 2009. I, Emma Freke tells of one girl's search for her identity. Smart and shy, Emma is as close to normal as her family gets. Still, she has a terrible time fitting in at school-and things only get worse when Emma attends her family reunion. Soon, she realizes that she's better off being herself than someone else's Freke. ". a timeless realistic tale."-School Library Journal
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 4, 2011
    ISBN9781449866822
    Author

    Elizabeth Atkinson

    Elizabeth Atkinson has been an editor, a children's librarian, an English teacher, and a newspaper columnist. She lives in Newburyport, MA. Visit her at www.elizabethatkinson.com.

    Related to I, Emma Freke

    Related audiobooks

    Children's For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Caitlin Colleary

      Nov 1, 2021

      Caitlin Colleary
      3 min read

    • Article

      SWIFTIE Forever! TAYLOR

      Jan 6, 2022

      SWIFTIE Forever! TAYLOR
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Fate Of The House

      Jun 6, 2018

      Today, the house on the hill wrestles for air. Pile upon piles of tree branches, bark and dry leaves clutter the driveway. At night it is dark, a ghost house. It wasn’t always like that. Squeezed between coloured Sydenham and Sparks Estate to the eas

      3 min read

    • Article

      Whoa! How Embarrassing!

      Feb 1, 2023

      Whoa! How Embarrassing!
      2 min read

    • Article

      No Words for Blue

      Nov 1, 2021

      No Words for Blue
      6 min read

    • Article

      The In-betweeners

      Nov 12, 2019

      Two years ago, during the Writing Popular Fiction MFA winter residency at Seton Hill University, a discussion broke out amongst my students in a critique workshop geared toward young adult (YA) writers: They didn’t think YA novels were really written

      6 min read

    • Article

      Q & A

      Nov 1, 2021

      Q & A
      2 min read

    • Article

      What Was It About Animorphs?

      Jan 23, 2019

      What Was It About Animorphs?
      7 min read

    • Article

      READER RIOTS : Best Jokes of 2021 by YOU!

      Nov 1, 2021

      What do you say to a pig in a bed? Quit hogging the covers! Eliana, age 9 via email Knock, knock. Who’s there? Jimmy. Jimmy who? If you jimmy a key, I’ll let myself in. Lily S. via email Why does tomorrow never come? Because it doesn’t

      1 min read

    • Article

      Whoa! How Embarrassing!

      Aug 8, 2019

      It was my school’s sports car nival day and I was about to run the r elay race. I was standing at the start line waiting for the race to begin and I was daydr eaming. I thought I hear d the starter so I started sprinting as fast as I could. Suddenly

      3 min read

    • Article

      Whoa! How Embarrassing!

      Sep 5, 2019

      Whoa! How Embarrassing!
      3 min read

    • Article

      Cheats Sheets

      Oct 11, 2020

      Cheats Sheets
      4 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Sep 1, 2022

      First prize 10 and under Tang Li, age 9 Palmetto Bay, FL My name is Anisa. I was in Hawaii on vacation. I enjoyed sipping refreshing drinks, overlooking the turquoise ocean, and dancing with others, before I overheard that the priceless Fire Ring wa

      10 min read

    • Article

      Come with Me

      Dec 1, 2022

      Come with Me
      12 min read

    • Article

      Diary of My Leg Hair

      Dec 8, 2022

      Diary of My Leg Hair
      21 min read

    • Article

      My First Pet

      Feb 2, 2020

      My First Pet
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Portrait

      Mar 1, 2018

      I WAS BORN almost completely deaf, and by the time I was seven I had already become a prisoner to my education. In the morning, I had speech therapy and tutoring with Mr. Bishop. We sat at my family’s long dining-room table, which was always covered

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Space Between Us

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Space Between Us
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Temporary Arrangement

      Oct 2, 2023

      A Temporary Arrangement
      19 min read

    • Article

      Ongoingness

      Apr 21, 2022

      Ongoingness
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for I, Emma Freke

    4/5

    65 ratings14 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This is a book about a girl who is six feet tall at twelve years old. She has a single mom, doesnt know her dad, and during the book she figures out where she really belongs.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      Emma is a twelve year old who doesn't fit in anywhere. She only has one friend. She gets a chance to go to her father's family reunion. She begins to see how she can fit in and why not fitting in can be a good thing.
    • 4/5
      Heard as an audiobook. While Wisconsin was somewhat parodied (gotta watch how my home state is characteried!), this was a very enjoyable book. Emma is raised by a "hippie" kind of mother and at age 12 feels she is the primary responsible person in her household. She doesn't look physically like any family or local residents and feels friendless...except for a much younger adopted neighbor. While her mother has never told her anything about her father, she unexpectedly has a chance to go to a family reunion held by his family. She learns a lot about herself and tolerance during that vacation.
    • 3/5
      Emma Freke (pronounced like Am a Freak) is 12 years old and just shy of six feet tall. She has flaming red hair, is exceptionally smart, and doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. It doesn't help that her mother sets no rules or boundaries for either Emma or herself. Emma's one solid rock is her best friend Penelope. Emma never met her father and knows nothing about him.But out of the blue, she receives and invitation to the Freke family reunion, which her mother happily sends her to, alone. There she finds she fits in quite well (nearly everyone is overly tall and red-headed) and everyone seems to like her. But there is also a weird pall that hangs over the event, as conformity seems to be enforced with an iron fist, and the one kid, also 12, who won't conform, is a complete outcast from the family.Events transpire to make a rather abrupt and completely unbelievable happy ending.The first half of the book I really enjoyed. I liked Emma and Penelope. But when the family reunion begins, everything becomes rather unbelievable. Characters don't behave the way real people in the same situation would behave. Then, the rushed, everyone-learns-their-lesson-and-changes-for-the-better ending was quite a stretch.
    • 5/5
      Really good story! I enjoyed the characters, very believable and had a positive ending. I read it all in one day, very attention grabbing!
    • 4/5
      For all us who have ever felt like the alien in a family, this book is for you. Emma lives with a hippy mother who owns a bead shop. In the apartment above the bead store Emma shares her space with mom, grandpa and his smelly, aging dog. Not only does she feel like the outcast in her family, she has no friends at school and no ability to make friends. Wonderful characters, very good story. Sure to please.
    • 3/5
      Emma Freke is a bit too smart, a bit too tall, and a bit too, well, "freakish" to have a name like hers (say it outloud). She would much rather spend the day working in her mother's bead shop than attempting to socialize at school and her flighty mother would rather that too, but only so she can worry about dating instead of making a living. When Emma gets an invitation to the family reunion of her father (who she doesn't know) she sees it as an opportunity to maybe finally find her people. She isn't quite prepared for what she learns about herself. I felt really bad for Emma throughout the first half of the book, and felt like the transformation was too big for short amount of time she spent with the Frekes. Not my favorite Caudill, or my favorite coming of age/finding yourself story, but girls who feel left out at that age might relate and love it.
    • 4/5
      Great book about a lost girl who is a loner. She has nothing in common with her extravagant mother and feels out of place. In order for Emma to gain self-confidence, she must not be afraid to be herself. Great coming of age story, although some places the voice is a bit weak. Still worth the read to have you think about why it's more important about being yourself, and not what others want you to be.
    • 5/5
      'oh no, here it comes, is that your name? Am a Freak ? Emma explains "My mother forgot to say it out loud when I was born." Emma Freke has it tough enough being 12, six feet tall with red hair! Join Emma, as she discovers her Freke side of the family and the father she never knew
    • 4/5
      This book made me laugh from the first mention of 'I, Emma Freke' up until its last pages. The childish way of storytelling and the way that the main character, Emma, claims to be an adult is endearing, funny, and hit very close to home. I mean, who has never experienced being out of place and thinking that being an adult is way cooler than remaining a kid/teenager? Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it from I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson. Summary from NetGalley: "What's in a name? I, Emma Freke is a charming search-for-identity story about Emma―the only "normal" member of her quirky family. Her flighty, New Age mom seems to barely have time for a daughter, especially one who annoyingly spoils her mom's youthful façade. Emma's well-meaning grandpa is clueless. And her only friends are the local librarian and a precocious 10-year-old adopted by the two old ladies next door. Smart, shy, and nearly six feet tall, Emma struggles to fit in at school, so she jumps at the opportunity to "home school" until that too turns into another of mom's half-baked ideas. The real crisis comes when she gets an invitation to The Freke Family Reunion, and her fellow Frekes aren't at all what she expects. While Emma desperately tries to find her niche, she discovers that perhaps it’s better to be her own "freak" than someone else's Freke." I can so relate with Emma. Maybe not with the name, although I do have some issues with mine (my real full name sounds to me like a character from a Spanish television series), but with the appearance. I used to be the tallest girl in class in my late elementary and high school days. Everyone would look strangely at me, and everyone asked me if I play some sport or another. They always seem to think I'm playing volleyball or basketball so when I tell them I'm not really interested in sports, they say the same thing every time: "Too bad, your height will make you a star." As if not being a very good athlete won't affect my playing in any way. When joining clubs, other people always think that just because I'm taller than everyone else (yes, including most guys) makes me more mature and smart and they all want me to head one club after another, forgetting that running one club precludes you from heading another (I was editor-in-chief of the school paper, and they all want me to be president of the Science Club even if I'm not that much of a Science geek, the Drama Club even if I was only there once, and other clubs I don't even have interest in). It also sort of affects the 'making friends' part because teenagers are almost always intimidated by my height, and their first impression of me is always 'bitchy' or 'snobbish' even if I'm none of those things. For Emma, most of the above are true, but kids her age tend to think they are 'above' her, or that she's not very important, and I can totally say that she is partly to blame because she herself tends to hide inside her shell when confronted by other teenagers. She doesn't give others a chance, immediately assuming that they are just laughing at her, and that they don't like her. She never even gave being sociable a try. And, already aware that her name sounds funny, she even adds to its ridicule by saying "My mom forgot to say it out loud when I was born." Can't she just stop making a big deal out of it? Stevie had it spot on when she said that "names and words only hurt if you let them." But then, with Emma's lack of self-esteem and real maturity, I guess that's predictable.This book was a cute tongue-in-cheek story of a typical egocentric teenager's dilemma: Not fitting it, feeling like they don't belong. There's really nothing new in here, except maybe for the Freke family reunion that showed a bunch of people acting like sheep and going with the herd. Emma was placed in two extremes: Her independent and indifferent life with her mother, and the structured, organized, and freakishly collective life with the Freke family. Somehow it's like saying that the grass is greener on the other side, only to find that it's just the same. Hopefully, these two extremes would help Emma choose her own path and her own spot on the grass. But however cute and light and very readable this story is, it's not entirely new and there is a large array of young adult fiction books devoted to this kind of issue. But then again, this is not a contest to see which book is best, and I can say that, for this book's part, it certainly made the grade. I loved the plot, the voice, and the characters are thoroughly detailed they are virtually human. I really enjoyed the humorous description of Emma's life, and there are some really laugh-out-loud moments that some 'teenage issues' books do not have. There were some parts that I felt was hurried, especially towards the ending, and I thought it would have been better if another twist was added or another chapter was written to make the story come full circle, but I guess it's for the best to leave the story at that, and let the reader think for themselves. Although the storyline is quite light, it still never fails to elicit empathy for Emma, as well as for teenagers like her who have difficulty fitting it. It makes the reader see this 'shallow' crisis through the sufferer's eyes and not just giving a story of hope and inspiration, it also teaches them how to treat these young adults well.This book was just released November of last year, and I urge you to go get a copy of this one. You won't regret reading and re-reading this book. -----I received this book free of charge from the publisher, Lerner Publishing Group and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and truthful review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book! This is a fun, cute and such a heartwarming read. I had no idea that I'm going to enjoy this one. The first time I read the general summary, I thought I knew how the story is going to turn out. However, as I continue to read the book, I was proven wrong.The story was very original, refreshing and it was written in a seemingly effortless way. The characters were too adorable and realistic, same thing goes with the dialogues.One of the things that made it easier for me to empathize with Emma was because we have a few things in common. I also like making lists although, not really as close as Emma's and when I know that I made someone upset, I just feel restless and having a hard time sleeping just because I wasn't used with feeling. Emma, on the other hand, trembles when she made someone get upset and she's not used with that feeling either, so I thought we have those in common.I'm giving this adorable book a rating of 4.5 out of 5 and I highly recommend this to all-ages. Yes, to all-ages because I know that in one point of our lives, we went through on our own "awkward stage" just like Emma.
    • 5/5
      Growing up near Boston with her free-spirited mother and old-world grandfather, twelve-year-old Emma has always felt out of place but when she attends the family reunion her father's family holds annually in Wisconsin, she is in for some surprises.
    • 4/5
      What if you found yourself in sixth grade more advanced than the other students, and much taller than them? Fitting in would be difficult. All of these problems plague the main character. Add to this her dysfunctional family and her name Emma Freke and you have the set up for a funny book. I felt sorry for Emma. I wanted someone to take her in and care for her. Then I realized she'd been taking care of herself for quite some time. This is one of those books I know many kids and adult will relate to. Even through dysfuction family is family.