- Summary: Billy Bloom is an outrageous, free spirited, teenage drag queen. Life is good until his mother quickly kicks him out and he is forced to move in with his father in Florida and attend an extremely unaccepting school of rich kids. From day one, he is called “faggot” and tormented. Despite this, he never changes his outside appearance. One day, he is literally beaten to a pulp, bones broken, internal organs damaged, all because people think he is a freak and gay. His savior comes by the name of Flip Kelly, the local football star and most popular kid in school. From that day on, Billy and Flip spend almost every day together. Billy falls in love with Flip and Flip can’t decide what he is: straight or gay. After their friendship is temporarily shattered due to a caught-on-camera make-out session, Billy runs for homecoming queen to bring awareness to the hate at the school. He loses, but brings courage to so many students, including Flip Kelly.
- Textbook: This is another example of realistic fiction that addresses a seemingly taboo topic of cross-dressing and homosexuality in regards to teenage boys. Stereotypical southern high school that is filled with rich kids who think they are superior spend their days tearing down people who are different without even a blink of an eye from a teacher. Billy is an extremely strong character who uses his personal strength to help others realize their own differences and embrace them. Even though he considers himself a Super Freak, he is an “everyman.” He is any kid in the world who is picked on for being different, but instead of letting it overtake him, he uses it as a way to rise above the bullying and become a spokesman. The tone of this books is so incredibly bubble, it was almost nauseating at first. The stream of consciousness was hard to get use to at first, but as Billy’s character was revealed more and more, it became like reading his journals and really knowing him.
James, J. S. (2007). Freak show. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books.
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