Freak Magnet [Library Binding]

Andrew Auseon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2010

A novel about freaks, geeks, crushes, and friends—and how sometimes you can be all of them at once.

Charlie is the freak. Gloria is the freak magnet. They're pretty much destined to meet. And when they do, sparks fly . . . for Charlie. Gloria, well, she just thinks he's like every other freak who feels compelled to talk to her, although a little better-looking than most.

While Charlie has his head in the clouds, Gloria's got hers in a book: her Freak Folio—a record of every weirdo who's talked to her in the last year (it's a big book). But never before has she felt the pull to get to know one of them better. Until now.

In this he-said-she-said tale of love, loss, and lucky signs from the author of the ac-claimed Funny Little Monkey, two young strangers at a crossroads in their lives become friends by happy accident (okay, maybe some harmless stalking is involved—and not by the person you'd think!) and forever change each other.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up–When not stargazing, Charlie fills his time by working at a drugstore and running around town with a Superman costume under his clothes. One day, he runs after the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. Gloria is used to attracting people who are a little different, but Charlie is on the fringe, even for her. While Gloria is mourning her brother's recent death in Afghanistan, Charlie is dealing with his mother's progressively debilitating sickness. He finally has the opportunity to break free of his reactive cycle, but the consequences could be more severe than he imagined. Auseon's attempt to develop Charlie through the arc of mania is half successful: the teen's behaviors at the beginning of the tale appear to be an affectation, which causes the gradual developing of self-awareness to seem faked. The social awkwardness that Auseon writes about will remind readers of the work of Mark Haddon and Francisco X. Stork, but there is a hollowness to it. However, Charlie's belief in the powers of the Superman costume is touching in his naïveté. Gloria's confrontation with her mother over the appropriate displays of grief is powerful and moving, and could be used for classroom discussions. The pacing is slow and the dual voices in the narrative fracture the story further. Not as outright bizarre as the author's Jo-Jo and the Fiendish Lot (HarperTeen, 2009), this book will appeal to more sophisticated readers, but only those with long attention spans and patience for quirks.Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

It only takes five words—This place smells like pee—for recent high-school grad Charlie to be fully smitten by the girl who just wandered into his café. The relationship comedy-drama that unfolds over the subsequent two months is told from both points of view: the freak (Charlie) and the magnet (Gloria). At first, Gloria has no reason to consider Charlie anything other than Freak: he says what's on his mind—to a fault—and is excruciatingly unafraid of making a scene. She, meanwhile, has been guarded ever since the death of her brother and prefers the solitude conducive to writing her free-form poetry. After fate tosses them together, the plot employs the expected tactics of tearing our would-be lovers apart via pressures and misunderstandings before each of them reaches the required epiphany. But Auseon's details—even when they become rather precious, as with Charlie's covert wearing of a Superman cape—are just original enough to amuse and move readers. (His handling of the parents, including a Huntington's-ravaged mom, is even better.) Predictable but undeniably pleasurable. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 320 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061139270
• ISBN-13: 978-0061139277
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It!, July 6, 2010

By 

Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf (PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freak Magnet (Hardcover)

It's as simple as this: I ADORED Freak Magnet to the max. It was fun, witty, and real- three characteristics that when mixed together make for pure awesomeness.

Both of the characters in Freak Magnet were ones I loved. No lie about it. Charlie was extremely sweet and chivalrous; a character who always had me laughing at his way of telling it like it is no matter how bad the consequences would be. And Gloria, while distant and moody at times, was always witty and intelligent; someone I would hug and tell everything be all right to if I could. Together they made for an awesome match- one that always lead to not only more funny moments but tender ones as well as they dealt with life, death, and love all in one. I also loved the secondary characters. Some of my favorites would be Maggie, Gloria's sister whose sense of style was bizarre yet wickedly awesome, and Edison, a guy I admired for his brave actions given his condition.

Told in a he-said/she-said type of way, Freak Magnet allowed for the Magnet and the Freak to tell their tale of things, making this be one trait of the novel I absolutely loved, because it always allowed for different questions to be swirling around in my head, such as: Would Gloria and Charlie ever get a chance at romance? Would Gloria ever get over her personal issues and realize that there still are reasons to live in the world? And plenty more, which left for this plot to one that always had me on my toes.

In all, Andrew Auseon not only makes Freak Magnet look like a start in my eyes but him as well because he's one fantastic author. I can't wait to read more by him.

My final advice? I know I say this a lot, but read this book, especially if you love he-said/she-said type of stories.

Grade: A-

4.0 out of 5 stars A sweet story, August 15, 2011

By 

Kenneth Simon (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Freak Magnet (Hardcover)

Freak Magnet is a story of a young man who sees himself as a misfit, devoid of social skills with very little hope of ever gaining them -- the Freak -- and a young woman, who seems to draw the attention of people but who only wants to push them, all of them, away -- the Magnet. When their worlds collide, his in-your-face enthusiasm crashes right into her prickly demands to be left alone. Will they ever see past their own caricatures of themselves and each other? If they face the problems in their own lives, perhaps they can begin to deal with them together. This is the story of their struggle to connect. It is told with sweetness and the author's clear affection for the characters he's created. While I wouldn't say the book is incredibly memorable, it's a fine story, well told and likely to be appreciated by teens both male and female.

4.0 out of 5 stars Freak Magnet, April 14, 2011

By 

Jenny, Wondrous Reads (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freak Magnet (Hardcover)

Freak Magnet isn't at all how I expected it to be. I thought it would be a lighthearted, fun contemporary romance and, while it was all of those things, it was also a lot deeper and serious than I thought it would be. Ultimately it's about hope and surviving what life throws at you, whether it's loss or illness or simply feeling like an outcast.

Auseon has a brilliant grasp of teenage vocabulary, and often made me laugh out loud with quick one-liners from Charlie, or sarcastic retorts from Gloria. The humour used was right up my street, as was Charlie's small obsession with Superman. The guy wore a Superman costume under his regular clothes... can you get much cooler than that?! I don't think you can. He has a cape and everything!

Speaking of Charlie, he's a lovely guy. He's innocently honest (perhaps TOO honest!), and so thoughtful and kind that it's hard not to fall completely in love with him. He cares for his unwell mother while holding down school and a job, and at night he stargazes with a telescope he bought by mowing hundreds of lawns. He's like my perfect guy imagined and put onto a page, complete with an extensive knowledge of the Man of Steel. I want one!

Gloria took me a little longer to warm to, but by the end of the book I loved her. She's still dealing with the loss of a family member, and meets Charlie purely by chance. She is a freak magnet, after all. When these two meet, it's like some kind of fate. They help each other more than they know, and provide much-needed comfort and support. The secondary characters - Charlie's friends and Gloria's sister - are also great to read about, and each has their own story that fits in seamlessly.

I love novels told from two perspectives through dual narration, and Freak Magnet is now firmly on my list of must-read contemporaries. I wish there could have been a little more romance, but hey, that's not the most important thing to Charlie and Gloria. I liked that, because it was realistic and allowed for a beautiful friendship to develop. If I ever meet a boy who wears a Superman costume under his shirt, you can bet I'll be flagging him down on a crowded street. Some things have just got to be done.