Freaks: Alive, on the Inside!

Children's Literature

Seventeen-year-old Abel is the odd one out in his family and his family's business. He lives with his father who has no legs and his mother who has no arms in a village with others with physical oddities. He earns money from curiosity seekers. Abel is determined to have another life, so he runs away to join a circus of all things. When the "fur-faced" boy follows him, Abel is reluctant to let the boy fend on his own. Abel assumes responsibility for him while they work unusual jobs and fend off those who would kidnap the boy for their own nefarious purposes. There is an element of fantasy present, as a mysterious woman comes to Abel, first in his dreams and then in a more tangible form. Readers will fall in love with Abel and sympathize with his quest to be in a normal environment. It is amazing how quickly the seemingly "odd" characters feel normal, but that is the point, after all. They may be "freaks" on the outside but it soon becomes apparent to the reader and Abel that the love and affection they have for one another is what lives on the inside. 2006, Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster, Ages 14 up.
—Deborah Taylor

KLIATT

Teenage Abel stands out in his surroundings because he's the only one who's "normal": he has grown up in a freak show, the Faeryland 1899 Review, and everyone around him is a human oddity of one kind or another. A Siamese twin gives him a mysterious Egyptian ring and Abel starts to have vivid dreams about an exotic and seductive woman. He runs off to seek his fortune--and to find a girl who isn't bearded to kiss. Abel joins a circus, but he's flung off the circus train when it's discovered that he was followed by a hair-covered "dog boy" from Faeryland. The two end up doing odd jobs in a brothel (nothing explicit here, but there's some suggestive language throughout the novel) and then join a traveling freak show, Dr. Mink's Monster Menagerie. There Abel finds the woman of his dreams--a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy who magically comes back to life for him. Abel also discovers that the children in the show have been abducted and are being mistreated, and he sets out to save them from the skeletal, sinister Dr. Mink. From a two-headed man to a scaly "alligator" girl and a "frog boy," freaks abound in this lively historical novel. The message, however, as Klause (author of Blood and Chocolate and The Silver Kiss) points out in an author's note at the end, is to treat those who look different with respect, and she succeeds in bringing out the humanity of her unusual characters. The fascination of human oddities will draw readers to this novel, and intrepid Abel's varied adventures will keep them turning the pages. KLIATT Codes: S--Recommended for senior high school students. 2006, Simon & Schuster, 336p., Ages 15 to 18.
—Paula Rohrlick

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Abel, 17, is the "normal" son of a legless father and an armless mother. He lives with other "oddities" in a midget village where they put on shows. He is restless and wants his own life. His romantic experiences have been limited to kissing the hairy Dog-Faced Girl. He runs away and joins a traveling circus, unaware that Apollo, 12, the hairy Puppy Boy, has followed him and stowed away aboard the circus train. Apollo is discovered and caged like an animal and Abel is thrown from the train by his fellow performers. Apollo escapes and they are reunited, working as servants in a brothel until Dr. Mink's Traveling Monster Menagerie arrives in town and Apollo is lured into joining them. Most of the show's "monsters" are children who were born with deformities and have been sold to or kidnapped by Mink. As Abel attempts to free them, he is plagued by dreams of a beautiful Egyptian woman who repeatedly throws herself at him. Somehow a ring he received as a gift allows this female mummy to come alive. Set in 1899, this gripping and sensual, but never explicitly sexual tale is a fascinating mixture of fantasy and reality. Abel's growth from an immature, irresponsible teen into a more mature, dependable young man ready to take charge is well done. The author never loses sight of the fact that despite their unusual appearances, all of the characters are human.-Sharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Abel finds his fortune with freaks in this unexpectedly comfortable coming-of-age tale. In 1899, individuals with severe deformities are known as freaks, fit only for the circus or the asylum. Fourteen-year-old Abel has no physical disabilities, but his parents do. He's been raised as a circus child in the Faeryland Freak Show, friend to dwarves, Siamese twins and Apollo the Dog Boy. There, Abel's unusual; without any entertaining deformities, he's never allowed to perform. But when he runs away to find his fortune (and a girl who's not a freak), Abel discovers the outer world is cruel. He finds one circus that despises freaks and imprisons those with deformities, then joins a freak show where those displayed are prisoners living in filth and fear. It's up to Abel to empower the poor wretches to rescue themselves and form a new community. The unusual setting of his adventure is treated with respect and affection. Only the romantic plot line, not developed as richly as the rest of the thoroughly compelling tale, weakens the offering. (Fiction. 12-15)