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    Freak: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Freak: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Freak: A Novel
    Ebook175 pages2 hours

    Freak: A Novel

    By Marcella Pixley

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    For Miriam Fisher, a budding poet who reads the Oxford English Dictionary for fun, seventh grade is a year etched in her memory "clear as pain." That's the year her older sister, Deborah, once her best buddy and fellow "alien," bloomed like a beautiful flower and joined the high school in-crowd. That's the year high school senior Artie Rosenberg, the "hottest guy in the drama club" and, Miriam thinks, her soul mate, comes to live with Miriam's family. And that's the year the popular "watermelon girls" turn up the heat in their cruel harassment of Miriam—ripping her life wide open in shocking, unexpected ways. Teased and taunted in school, Miriam is pushed toward breaking, until, in a gripping climax, she finds the inner strength to prove she's a force to be reckoned with.

    This riveting first novel introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine, an outsider who dares to confront the rigid conformity of junior high, and in the process manages not only to save herself but to inspire and transform others.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateSep 18, 2007
    ISBN9781429939034
    Unavailable
    Freak: A Novel
    Author

    Marcella Pixley

    Marcella Pixley is a middle school language arts teacher and a writer. Her poetry has been published in various literary journals, and she has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her first book, Freak, received four starred reviews and was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. She lives in Westford, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons.

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    Reviews for Freak

    4/5

    67 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Miriam is proud to be an outsider until 7th grade when her best buddy older sister turns beautiful and eager to join the in-crowd. Matters only get worse when Artie, a family friend and the hottest guy in school comes to live with them. Teased by the "watermelon girls" and seemingly abandoned by her family Miriam moves closer to the edge.
    • 3/5
      Mixed feelings. I remember 7th grade, and I remember feeling much like Miriam does, with all the abuse of classmates heaped on. But she brings so much of it on herself (as I almost certainly did, I'm sure) and it's hard to like her

      Realistic portrayal of girl-on-girl bullying, but ultimately I don't think the 8th graders will respond to it.
    • 5/5
      This is a great book for any tween growing up. Especially those who value education more than popularity. I wish I had found this book when I was growing up; I would have realized that there were others in the same situations and not only did they survive they found courage to do what is right in the end. A wonderful read.
    • 3/5
      I had read glowing reviews for Freak; unfortunately, it did not quite live up to my expectations. I was particularly disappointed by the predictable plot and the clunky writing as I expected better from an author who is both a middle school English teacher and a poet. However, an average middle school student will find this tale of bullying and unrequited love engrossing and enjoyable, and will relate to the descriptions of the middle school life as realistic.
    • 3/5
      Perhaps it was the reviews quoted below that set my sights too high, but I didn't love this book as much as i had expected. I'll chalk it up to 'the wrong book at the wrong time' cause when it comes down to it, I think the novel is everything the reviews said it was--beautiful, poetic, real. Though now that I type this, real doesn't totally ring true. The ending kind of bugged me--I think its a bit unrealistic--unfortunately, in the real world, Miriam would probably just go on being tormented. and would not have had the opportunity to save her enemy--maybe I'm being pessimistic but that part felt contrived--on the whole a good book though, and despite my lukewarm reading of it, I'd heartily reccomend it to middle school students--I'm interested to see how they respond to it!
    • 4/5
      reminded me a bit of my experience in middle school--except for the part where she goes apesh*t on the popular girl in the lunchroom. very, very good.
    • 5/5
      Loved it. This book has it all. A very real portrayal of an eith grader's life and a look it bullying from a variety of perspectives. By the end of the novel the Freak finds out everything is not as it seems and, of course, that she is beautiful. There are mesages splattered throughout that hopefully kids pick up on. This includes the fact that adults are sometimes tragically fallable but are usually trying to do their best.
    • 4/5
      At first glance, it may appear that seventh grader, Miriam Fisher, is well-adjusted to the fact that she is different from her fellow classmates. She ignores their frequent taunts of being called a freak and revels in the fact that if she’s not reading poetry, she is reading entries from the Oxford English Dictionary. But when her older sister, Deborah, and long-time family friend, Artie, join the ranks of the popular crowd, Miriam is devastated as they submit to peer pressure and join in on the teasing. The bullying and emotional pain which Miriam endures are excruciating- as is the ignorance of her parents who are frustratingly deaf to Miriam’s signals for help. As Miriam quickly begins to unravel in a barrage of cruelties, the reader is prepared for what seems like an inevitable dismal ending. This book is a perfect vehicle to discuss bullying and its effects on all involved: victims and players alike.
    • 4/5
      Miriam is considered a freak at school. Even her older sister is mean to her. This book describes Miriam's pain and how she copes with the problem. It is well-written and engaging.
    • 4/5
      Miriam Fisher is a seventh grade freak. It wasn't always this way. Miriam can remember long hours spent playing Star Trek with her sister and being happy with being who she was. But now her sister Deborah's in high school and she's suddenly gotten popular and stopped caring about music and school. And Miriam is left to deal by herself. When the artsy Artie comes to stay with their family because his parents are going on sabbatical in India, Miriam's dreams are coming true. She's been in love with Artie for a long time and she just knows that he'll be the one who will get her. She knows they're meant to be. But things don't turn out the way Miriam expects. Ultimately, Artie's stay just makes everything worse (especially because he's in love with her sister... just like everyone else). She's bullied at school. Tortured, really. And she can't tell her parents because she knows they wouldn't do anything and they have enough to deal with. Miriam has to find a way to deal, how to stick up for herself... or she just might self-destruct.This is a gripping portrayal of bullying. The writing is gorgeous and Pixley's got the outcast perfectly. It would make a Great book discussion book. There is so much to talk about with this book. And I wouldn't be surprised if it got some Printz attention.