Customer Reviews

Freewill

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

 

 

This book is confusing. You may shake your head more than once throughout as you wonder what you may have missed. But, unlike the only other review that is currently posted, I intend to say positive things about the book.

1. Will's descriptions of what it feels like to be an outcast are wonderful. I speak to you as someone who was formerly known as invisiblegirl, so I know what Will was saying. And the way he said it, it was beyond merely true. True isn't a strong enough word. I felt what Will was saying when he said, "People are nearby, in front of your face or working shoulder to shoulder or whatever it is, but they are never ever really with you, are they? Nearby, that's the best they can ever be."

2. The book moves quickly which may feed to the confusion, but the story has a slow feel to it. You are inside Will's mind, the mind of a disturbed young man. There is a certain slowness that comes across in Will's thoughts that counteracts the fast pace of the book. The result is that the reader is able to get to know Will through the inner dialogue, his voices if you will. I feel that this "experiment" of the second person was well done. It accomplished what it set out to do, in my mind anyway.

3. This isn't your standard book, but it is worth the read if you choose not to be put off by the fact that the events of the novel are not really all that important. It may sound like they are when you're describing to book: 'a series of teen suicides leaves a young man wondering if he caused their deaths unknowingly.' Sounds like some kinds of a psychological thriller, doesn't it? It isn't. It is psychological all right, but not a thriller by any means. This book is an opportunity to really get inside a characters head, in a way that few other books allow.

I suggest you read it and decide how well you know yourself.

Brianna October 31, 2002

Freewill By: Chris Lynch ISBN: 0-06-028117-4

"Are you listening? No, LISTEN. Down at the pond last night. Sombody was killed." In this realistic fiction, Will wants to be a pilot, but ended up in wood shop. He makes beautiful things. All of a sudden, he starts making wooden carvings. When a bunch of teen deaths happen and he is blamed he starts to investigate uncovering secrets that nobody wants to know.

Freewill was a definite page-turner that you won't be able to put down. It touches on aspects in life that almost every teenager goes through. This type of book could almost be classified as a murder mystery. It definitly keeps you on the edge of your seat. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes murderous, scary stories and is above the age of 13. I say that because there are a lot of swearing in this book and the style of writing (second person) is a little bit difficult to understand. For example. "How does it feel? Is the job done? Did you kill it, him, us? It is gone, Will? Is it better? Is it worse? Is it finished, or is it the beginning?
Who did you hit? What did you hit? Did it hurt? Who did it hurt?" Now you might think that this is someone talking and just asking a lot of questions, but it's not. This is pretty much how the whole narration of the book is. I couldn't figure out if this was Will's inner thought's or maybe someone communicting telepathically with him or what because it uses the word 'you' when talking about Will. But other than that it is a great book. It did, like I said, keep you on the edge of your seat and left you hanging at the end. So if I controlled everybody's actions I would definitly say, "Go get a copy of Freewill and read it NOW!"

The writing grabbed my attention immediately. As the reader, we are listening in on a character who has this voice talking to him...all...of...the...time. Gripping for the first ten pages or so, but excruciating and exhausting before you get even halfway through the story. (A story which is very well hidden behind the incessant talking and questioning of "the voice.") Did I mention the exhausting part?

This is Not a quick read. Were you looking for a quick read, dear reader? Were you? Is that what you need? Things to be quick? Because that what books can be, can't they? Quick. But why call them "reads," anyway? Aren't they really books? Isn't it strange how people call things what they aren't? Can you even ponder that, reader? Is it worth pondering? Why? Why even ask? Does asking . . .

(No kidding. That's what the book is like from start to finish.)

Sure, stylistically this book is intriguing, but that cannot sustain a reader without a strong narrative pull. This book full of internal questions that eventually exhaust a reader does not develop a strong narrative. Nothing changes. I haven't finished the book--halfway--and am compelled to comment here and blow off some frustrations. Yes, the main character is frustrated, depressed, and floundering. So is the story. As a reader, I've been treading water for too long without any narrative goodies to rejuvenate me. Time to get out of the water.

Will has had some problems in his life. His parents are dead. Actually, his father drove off of a bridge with his stepmother in the car, and both of them were killed. Will isn't sure it was completely an accident. Will's grandparents take him in and try to help him cope with these deaths, which he doesn't do very well. He eventually is enrolled in a school program mainly consisting of wood shop classes. Instead of working toward his dream of becoming a pilot, Will spends hours making gnomes, furniture, and then, finally, wooden totems with no apparent purpose.

Then, when a student is found dead of what seems like a suicide, one of Will's wooden totems shows up at the scene. Then it happens a second time. Will is confused about who would place his totems at these places. Then a totem shows up before a person is found dead, and Will starts thinking that perhaps he in some strange way is causing these deaths.

Will is suddenly in the middle of turmoil. A newspaper interview in which he tries to explain his thoughts goes all wrong. Will's grandparents are growing increasingly worried about him. Some students at school are thinking Will is some sort of prophet and they want to be his followers--but they get angry when Will doesn't give them what they want. The girl Will likes may be in danger. Can he pull himself out of this mess and put his life back in order?

I liked the character of Angela. I thought she was interesting and mysterious. I also ended up liking the narration style, although at first it was difficult for me to get used to it. It took me awhile to learn when Will was just talking inside of his head and when he was having conversations with other people. Once I got used to it, though, the flow was pretty good. I kept wishing that Will would not be such a jerk to his grandparents, though, and that they could develop a somewhat stable family. I found the whole thing about the suicides and the totems was confusing, and I wished I could have seen some things from a point of view other than Will's. I didn't always trust him as a narrator.

I am a very determined reader so I forced myself to finish this book. This was awful. I had no idea what was going on during the story. More clues get discovered as you get into the book but I was getting very confused because they start the story talking as if you are the person in this whole book. I thought It was like a choose your own adventure and they were talking personally to me 'the reader'. Although in the story they were only his thoughts talking. But they use 'you' alot so you think you personally are involved. I felt the book was unfinished. Did he really do the murders? What was up with him in the ocean at the end?????? He just got up and out of the water and everything with his pops was alright again? It just didn't make much sense to me. I dont recommend this book.

My book was Freewill by Chris Lynch. It was about a boy named Will whose parents die in an accident. So Will goes to a special school and lives with his grandparent who aren't very nice. It was kind of a depressing book because there are many teen suicides going on and everyone is blaming them on Will. The book was very confusing and hard to follow. You didn't know who was talking or what exactly they were talking about. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Even if you could figure out what was going on, it wasn't a very appealing story.

One of the reviews are wrong. This story is NOT about a girl who is to commit suiside. I just wanted to clarify that. It is a book that one cannot exactly compare. When you finish reading it, it leaves you wondering......

Freewill, by Chris Lynch.
If you like uncovering mysteries and secrets then you will definitely like this book. Freewill has a little bit of everything like suspense, imagination, revealing secrets, etc. It is a little confusing but the more you read, the more you understand. ...

This book was perhaps the worst ever written by Chris Lynch. The thinking was muddled and the story seemed almost pointless. The book was written in second person narrative which made it super confusing and if I hadn't known about this beforehand I probably wouldn't have been able to finish the book. And once I finished the book, it was a welcomed relief. I had to fight my way through reading this book. I recommend that you pick up some of Chris Lynch's other works, which prove to be much more enjoyable reads.