Freakboy

Description

From the outside, Brendan Chase seems to have it pretty easy. He's a star wrestler, a video game aficionado, and a loving boyfriend to his seemingly perfect match, Vanessa. But on the inside, Brendan struggles to understand why his body feels so wrong--why he sometimes fantasizes about having long hair, soft skin, and gentle curves. Is there even a name for guys like him? Guys who sometimes want to be girls? Or is Brendan just a freak? In razor-sharp verse, Kristin Clark folds three narratives into one powerful story: Brendan trying to understand his sexual identity, Vanessa fighting to keep her and Brendan's relationship alive, and Angel struggling to confront her demons.

Kristin Elizabeth Clark always knew she wanted to be a writer. She began dabbling in haiku in the third grade - this "experimentation" turned out to be a gateway to the harder stuff: book-length verse. She lives and writes in Northern California, where she has worked as a child advocate within the juvenile justice system and as a children's theater producer. She is a proud volunteer at Project Outlet in Mountain View, California. Freakboy is her young adult debut. kristinelizabethclark.com

"...a gripping story about a complex topic..." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "*This gutsy, tripartite poem explores a wider variety of identities--cis-, trans-, genderqueer--than a simple transgender storyline, making it stand out." --Kirkus Review, starred review "It succeeds in conveying the message that you are not alone to transgender youth while helping everyone else get a handle on these often-tortured teens. The author succeeds in her mission to foster greater understanding and acceptance of gender's vast and lovely variation." --School Library Journal "A sincere, profound rendering of sexuality, queerness, and identity." --The Horn Book