Freakboy

by Kristin Clark
Hennepin County Library hardcover 427 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

Written in prose poetry, this is a story told from three viewpoints. Brendan is a wrestler who doesn't love wrestling. He has a little sister, Courtney, toward whom he is loving. His girlfriend Vanessa (another perspective) is also a wrestler. She enjoys ceramics and is struggling to maintain her friendship with two girls as she becomes more and more focused on Brendan. Angel is a transgender living as a young woman. Her perspective is the third. Angel's story is the most compelling, although Brendan's is clearly the focus of the book. Angel was abused by his biological father as a child. His mother died when Angel was quite young. He loves his little brother Frankie, but runs away to live with his aunt until her new boyfriend starts threatening him. Having sold his body, lived homeless, and gone hungry, he now works in a gathering place for GLBTQ youth.

Difficult to read and think about kids actually dealing with gender identity issues (Brendan decides on "gender fluid" since he identifies both ways), this book is a fairly quick read with lots of provoking themes. At one point as Brendan commits suicide, he is forced to think of how the discovery of his corpse would impact his little sister.

My favorite part was Angel praying and talking about God's love.