The Book of Fred: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "When Little Freddie took sick, I knew things would change, and change fast..." (more)
Key Phrases: little chick, stuffed dog, Mary Fred, Dylan Magnuson, Big Cat (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When 15-year-old Mary Fred Anderson's parents are charged with second-degree murder in the neglectful death of their son, Mary Fred is sent from the fundamentalist commune she's grown up in to the nearby Maryland suburbs and the foster care of a quirky 1990s family headed by librarian Alice Cullison, in this topical but uneven debut. A single mom, Alice lives with her brother, Roy, and her sullen 15-year-old daughter, Heather. Bardi has set up a high-concept collision involving several timely issues: cult religions and drugs (Roy spends his days working a scam that enables him to buy heroin, but Heather is too self-absorbed to notice and Alice too flummoxed). Despite the use of multiple narrators the novel is divided into the Book of Mary Fred, the Book of Alice, the Book of Roy and the Book of Heather characters are not fully developed because they are captive to the plot. (Bardi is good at interior dialogue, however, as when Heather muses, "I don't like anything about Sara. For one thing, she's very polite and self-confident and she talks to adults like she's their oldest friend.") The result is unsatisfactory ambiguity: Bardi wants us to take seriously the members of her cobbled-together family, but throws in a kitchen-sinkful of colorful secondary characters for comic effect; the Cullisons' neighbor Paula, for instance, is a postoperative transsexual heavily dependent on astrology. The contrast between the hardworking, literal-minded Mary Fred and the materialistic, self-absorbed Heather is potentially most interesting, but their relationship is not thoroughly fleshed out. Bardi's message may be that cult member or not, we each carry the burden of a belief system a sound enough idea, but one only sketchily developed. (Sept.)Forecast: Bardi pushes lots of hot buttons here, and browsers may bite when they scan the cover copy; the quirky title will help, too.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-This story of two 15-year-olds from disparate backgrounds is told with humor, understanding, and love. Mary Fred was raised in a fundamentalist community; her parents are jailed for allowing two of their sons to die from untreated illness. Alice, a single parent who lives in what seems to be an idyllic suburban neighborhood with her daughter Heather and her brother Roy, is appointed Mary Fred's guardian. From living with little schooling and in isolation, the teen is plunged into Heather's world of TV, pizza, high school, and a family that is shockingly disorderly and undisciplined. Mary Fred proceeds to clean and organize the household and get the family members to eat their dinner at the table and actually talk to one another. Heather metamorphoses from a TV and snack-food addicted couch potato into a reasonably polite and helpful daughter. In turn, Mary Fred begins to read books other than the New Testament and the Book of Fred, the dictum of her former community, and becomes a fan of Judge Judy. Just when these characters have melded into a caring family, a horrible act of violence at school leaves the protagonist close to death. The climax to the story, Mary Fred's return home, is both riveting and satisfying.

Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (September 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743411943
• ISBN-13: 978-0743411943
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #954,443 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Find, November 3, 2001

By	Kathleen Callan "[e-mail]" (Drexel Hill, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Fred: A Novel (Hardcover)

When I first began reading A Book of Fred by Abby Bardi, I couldn't imagine how I could come to care about four such eccentric characters so dissimilar to me - a fundamentalist teenager who has been isolated from the modern world; a somewhat dysfunctional and scattered single mom; a sullen teenager with blue-streaked hair; and a man whose sole interests in life seem to be freeloading and watching television. This wonderful first novel reinforces a philosophy I try to live by - do not stereotype! The author quickly and skillfully draws the reader into the complex characters and deepening interrelationships of these four people. I came not only to care about them, but to root and applaud and cheer for them. Told with wit, perception, and near-perfect dialogue, Abby Bardi shapes four distinct lives and weaves them together seamlessly.

It's refreshing to find a book that keeps you up until 2 am, knowing full well that the alarm goes off in less than 4 hours.

Please read this book, love this book, and recommend it to any intelligent person you know - it's a treasure.

To Abby Bardi - more soon, please!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Mary Fred!, September 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Fred: A Novel (Hardcover)

I can't remember the last time I rooted for a character the way I rooted for Mary Fred. Fifteen years old and raised in a Koresh/Ruby Ridge sounding cult, Mary Fred has never seen a talkshow, or the inside of a school, when she's plucked from her true-believing parents and thrust into the thick of the modern world. The story of how she educates her foster family, and how they return the favor, will keep you riveted, break your heart, and give you hope. What a great debut!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming Book, June 19, 2006

By	Dindy Robinson "Swimming Kangaroo Books" (Arlington, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Book of Fred by Abby Bardi is a sympathetic portrayal of the upheaval in 15-year-old Mary Fred's life when she is removed from the isolated fundamentalist sect with which she has lived most of her life and sent to stay with a foster family consisting of single mother, Alice and her teen-aged daughter, Heather.

Mary has been raised in a totally primitive environment and believes devoutly in the divinity of the leader of her sect, Fred. There is a constant culture clash between her and Heather as Mary tries to adhere to the tenets of her faith, and even tries to bend the family's will to her own. She is so certain in the rightness of the way in which she was raised that she cannot see things in any other way. She longs to be able to leave her foster home and go back to the cult.

Ms. Bardi handles Mary's faith and her confusion about her foster family with sympathy and awareness of adolescence. She also handles Heather's embarrassment at her foster sister's strange ways quite realistically. This book will make you think twice about the wisdom of suddenly pulling children from one environment into another without adequately preparing the children for the culture clash. And the book will make you respect Mary Fred who, even when she is confronted with the most irrefutable evidence of the perfidy of Fred, still struggles to find a way to maintain her faith and her beliefs.