Customer Reviews

Freaky Green Eyes

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!!

The introduction to Freaky Green Eyes by Joyce Carol Oates is very catchy. It leads you into the book without you wanting to put in down, and the ending makes you never want it to end. This book would mostly attract girls that like books full of real-life events. For example, in this book it talks about school, death, and divorce. These things could really happen, which is what I loved about the book. Freaky Green Eyes is about a girl named Franky with a famous, but violent father. When her mother starts leaving the house, she knows something is wrong. After, awhile her mother turns up missing, and finds her journal. Through reading this diary, she soon learns there is more to the story than just her mother leaving. My favorite part of the book is how there are so many details. Joyce Carol Oates does a very good job with keeping the story a mystery until the very end. The problem with the descriptivness is that she doesn't really leave anything to the imagination. If you are looking for a great, mysterious book that keeps you reading, this is the book for you. It takes you on a wonderful adventure that you will never forget. When I started reading this book I got into it, and didn't even notice how many pages I was reading. Unlike many books I have read, this one kept me intrested thoughout the whole book.

Joyce Carol Oates has far surpassed her first young adult novel, Big Mouth and Ugly Girl, with Freaky Green Eyes. I loved this novel and couldn't put it down. As a high school English teacher, I've recommended it to several students and word of mouth has spread--everyone can't wait to read Freaky Green Eyes.

Poor Franky has to deal with a near date rape, but it brings out a strong side of her known as "Freaky Green Eyes". Freaky seems to know the truth about what is going on, even though Franky doesn't say anything. Why her mother wears scarves and long sleeves, and eventually moves out. How it isn't right that bruises are left on her sister and herself after "punishment" by her father. It especially isn't right that after her mother's disapperance, her father was supposed to be home, but Freaky knows that his car had left the driveway late that night. It's up to her to make it right, despite the consequences.

I highly recommend this book based on the excellent voices Joyce Carol Oates gives to her characters. It is truly unique to find an author who can write for both adults and teens, while still keeping her audience in mind.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was well written, though quite drawn out at certain parts. After reading Big Mouth Ugly Girl, this book slightly dissapointed me. I very much enjoyed Big Mouth Ugly Girl, and was highly impressed by Joyce Carol Oates work and her using ambiguity in the book. I was hoping that Freaky green eyes would be like that, but it was not. However, I did enjoy Freaky Green Eyes. Joyce Carol Oates portrayed the character of franky and her alter ego,"freaky", very well. The character of Freaky/Franky is a very understandable character, that you get to know through the book. Unfortunately, you might not always like her, and might, at times, become exasperated with her inability to see what is going on, but over all, I enjoyed this book.

Fifteen-year-old Franky Pierson knows that her famous sportscaster father has a bad temper. She also knows that her parents do not get along and that sometimes violence erupts. When her mother moves into a cabin she owns and only visits a few days a week, Franky thinks they just need their own space for a little while. But things seem to get worse and her father's behavior becomes more extreme.

Franky's alter ego, Freaky Green Eyes, is a tough personality that saves her from dangerous and scary situations and is now needed more and more often at home. When her mother disappears, Franky does not want to know what happened. But the truth always seems to have a way of getting out.

Fans of Joyce Carol Oates's marvelous BIG MOUTH & UGLY GIRL most likely will be disappointed with this effort. It's fairly obvious early on in the book what's going to happen and who will be to blame for it. While Franky's denial of her terrible home life is realistic, it goes on for far too long for the patience of readers.

I believe the symbolism of the Freaky Green Eyes is too heavy-handed for savvy teen readers. The book starts by explaining the name in a scene that is strongly reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK. But the near-rape scene does not quite fit in with the domestic violence in Franky's home, making the nickname somewhat confusing.

Oates has always been a master of voice, and readers will understand Franky even if they are exasperated with her delayed ability to see the signs of what's coming. Her strong characterization is not enough, however, to overcome the stereotyped parents and predictable plot.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

I got this book after reading "Big mouth and Ugly Girl", written by the same author, Joyce Carol Oates. I must say, "Big mouth and Ugly Girl" was better but i still liked this book a lot because i found it very well-written, although slightly slow-paced. I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, but I enjoyed this book and recommend it strongly to young teen or older pre-teen readers that like books that talk about difficult times that some young teenagers have to face.

As a fan of another of Oates young adult books, Big Mouth and Ugly Girl, I had high expectations for this one. The writing is superb, after all it is Joyce Carol Oates and the woman can write. I was somewhat disappointed in the plot. Essentially the book seems to me to be a meditation on what might have happened in the O.J. Simpson case. As far as that goes, it is a deep and textured reflection. It seemed to me the whole story was rather neatly wrapped up in the end, unlike in real life where there are still so many unanswered questions. Perhaps in young adult you can't leave things just hanging and all has to be neatly resolved. I think a young adult reader might be more satisfied with the conclusion and not as engaged by the psychologial journey to get there.