Freaky Green Eyes [Hardcover]

Joyce Carol Oates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2003

Later, I would think of it as crossing over. From a known territory into an unknown. From a place where people know you to a place where people only think they know you.

It began with me a year ago this past July. A few weeks after my fourteenth birthday. When Freaky Green Eyes came into my heart.

When her parents separate, Franky Pierson has no trouble deciding whose side she's on. After all, her mother is the one who chose to leave. And when her mother is suddenly reported missing, Franky believes she's simply pulled a disappearing act and deserted their family for good. But a part of Franky, a part she calls Freaky Green Eyes, knows that something is wrong. And it's up to Freaky to open Franky's eyes to the truth.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Freaky Green Eyes is the name 15-year-old Franky gives to her stronger self, the part that has to deal with the enigma that is her parents' relationship. With a nod to the O. J. Simpson case, Oates pulls readers into a fast-paced, first-person thriller that begins when Franky's mother, an artist, begins spending alone time at her cabin. It's immediately clear that her situation isn't idyllic; Franky's father, former football hero and popular sportscaster Reid Pierson, is calling the shots as to when his wife can come and go. There's no nuance to Reid's character. He's a charming, controlling bully who rules his family; should his will be thwarted, he gets physical. When Mrs. Pierson and a male friend disappear, there's also no mystery about who's behind the abduction; the clues, if that's what they are meant to be, are awkwardly dropped. Yet what could have been a predictable plot in the hands of a less-experienced writer becomes an absorbing page-turner as Franky slowly lets herself accept the violence that has always been in her family and finds the courage to stand up to her father. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Observant family history and a developing mystery.” (Chicago Tribune )

“A fast-paced, first-person thriller” (ALA Booklist )

“A suspenseful story…grippingly realistic” (KLIATT )

“Among this year’s most compelling fiction” (Boston Herald )

“Moves along at the breathless pace” (BookPage )

“Oates builds the mounting tension masterfully, crafting a fast-paced narrative that will haunt readers long after the final page.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: HarperTempest; 1ST edition (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066237599
• ISBN-13: 978-0066237596
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,336,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joyce Carol Oates is the author of more than 70 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry volumes, plays, essays, and criticism, including the national bestsellers We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde. Among her many honors are the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the National Book Award. Oates is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars can't stop thinking about it, March 13, 2005

By 

Aurora "rory_7" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freaky Green Eyes (Paperback)

this is the best book i've read in a lonnng time. Just like the cover says, it does haunt you long after the last page. francesca's alter ego, freaky green eyes, knows the truth, the truth that francesca does not want to know. The whole book you can tell that francesca's dad is a little scary, through his intolerance, abuse, and something else that is reflected in Oates writing. this is a mix of a coming to age story, and a mystery. it is the only mystery book i've read where the main character actually goes into artistic detail about her feelings. Buy this book and you won't be dissapointed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Why so much trauma?, August 27, 2008

By 

K. S. Vance "Young at heart" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Freaky Green Eyes (Paperback)

Why, oh why is so much "young adult" literature filled with trauma? I am a middle school teacher who reads a lot of YA novels to find good ones to recommend to my students. I will not be recommending this one. I don't know anyone who has had a life like Oates' heroine Franky. In the first few pages, she narrowly escapes a rape. She then goes on to suffer an abusive father and then the forced estrangement from and eventual murder of her mother! I wonder what kind of world Oates lives in to make this be what she wants to communicate. A second factor in my strong reservations about this book is the very anti-male world Oates creates. From the near rapist at the beginning, to the abusive father throughout, to Franky's cruel older brother (who reamins a threat to her aunt even at the very end), to the boys who capture and terrorize wild animals in the middle, to the lying attorney towards the end, the males in this book are almost all dangerous and untrustworthy. One nice man, who is gay, is murdered, and one boy seems possibly nice at the very end of the novel. That was not enough to overcome what seemed too anti-male for me. I will put this on my classroom shelf without fanfare, and if I know someone who needs to see how to deal with abuse or know she's not alone, I will guide him or her to this book (as well as do much more, I would hope!). But for my average readers, who are all unique individuals and all have typical teenage lives, with their own angst and drama and struggle to figure out who they are, this is not enlightening, inspiring, moving, entertaining, or even very helpful.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A scary, sad, and impossible to put down book, April 26, 2005

By 

Ally Ottesen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freaky Green Eyes (Hardcover)

From the moment i started this book, it put a death grip on my mind and didn't let go until i finished it! This book raised some real issues and haunted me soooo ong after i finished the last page. I admit,i cryed hard. This book was thick wth emotion: sadness, tension, fear, hope, love, and hate. I reccomend this book to anyone over 13 but i am warning any reader or potential reader- YOU WILL THINK ABOUT THIS BOOK LONG AFTER YOU FINISH IT...IT IS VERY SAD!!