Reviews

Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught

qilamira's review against another edition

3.0

fast-paced story line, a bit confusing at a time because of multiple POV but still a great read. what i gain from this book is "you gotta listen to alphabets too"

a_manning11's review against another edition

5.0

This book is outstanding. The story gripped me from start to finish, I could not put the book down. More important, though is the way the story is told, because Jason is schizophrenic. He hears voices in his head and cannot be sure what is real and what isn't. When his best friend goes missing one day, the voices tell him he did it - but he didn't. And he does everything he can to find out the truth, and to find her.

kittlyn's review against another edition

4.0

A brilliant look into a mentally ill person's mind. It was heartbreaking and lovely and made me want to hug someone because they all needed one.

lancethechance's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

thona's review against another edition

5.0

Thi book made me take one great beautiful sigh of relief and it hurt so much it just- bravo take my money and just go this book.

literaturenlace's review against another edition

5.0

THE WRITING STYLE idk what about it but i loved it.

nerfherder86's review against another edition

4.0

A taut, gripping, emotional mystery with a compelling main character whose narration you're not always sure you can trust. Jason is called "Freak" by bullies and also by his friend "Drip"--in fact he and his other friend Sunshine all embrace their "freakiness", considering themselves "Alphabets" for their multiple-acronymed diagnoses such as ADHD (Drip, whose perpetually running nose got him that nickname) and SM (Sunshine is Selectively Mute) and SCZI: that's Jason, he's schizophrenic and hears so many voices in his head, he's not always sure when he's hearing real people. Your heart just goes out to these teens as they cope with everyday life, made harder by their personality disorders. The sudden disappearance of Sunshine throws the boys into a tizzy. Jason and Drip are questioned, they're suspects, but they're positive that something bad has happened to her and she didn't just run away. But even as Jason tries to trust his instincts about his dear friend Sunshine, he is vaguely remembering something horrible that he somehow knows he's not supposed to remember--could it be that he is responsible for what's happened to Sunshine? It's a really interesting mystery, with wonderful characters. The writing style is a little difficult to follow at first, as you get used to Jason's stream of consciousness way of telling the story. But it's worth sticking with it. The author's psychiatric medical background makes this a very realistic story.

b00kw0rm113's review against another edition

4.0

I'll admit, the reason I picked up Freaks Like Us was because it was from the 'sick' person's point of view. In so many books, you don't get to see how the world is from the person going through all these difficulties's point of view, and that's probably my favourite thing about any book.

In this book, our main character is Jason Milwaukee, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is when you hear voices in your head telling to what to do, but then there's another voice telling you not to do that. It's a constant battle for anyone with schizophrenia, and they are extremely strong to go through this everyday.

Jason is also known as Freak by the students of his school and he has accepted that and Freak is basically his nickname now. He has two friends, Derrick (Drip) and Sunshine (yes, that's her real name). The story starts off with the three of them doing an algebra test at school and then travelling back home.

After they had reached home, around five o'clock, Jason's father gets a phone call from Sunshine's mother, asking him if he had seen Sunshine. They responded no, and it was soon known that Sunshine was missing.

Obviously, she could've run away, but the thing is, Sunshine is a selective mute, which is apparently a mental disorder, even though I have no idea why. If she doesn't want to speak to people, it's not like she's crazy, she's just shy. But, anyways, it was quite dangerous for Sunshine to be out in the big, wide world on her own.

The officers and FBI agents informed everyone involved that the first 24 hours are crucial and Jason is determined to find Sunshine before the time is up, even if that means going off his meds for quite a bit of time.

I hope by now you've understood how the scene is set and I can continue on with my thoughts. I really loved the book, four stars, and I found it to be a bit short. Or that's probably because I barely put the book down while reading.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, the fact that the book is from Jason's point of view is one of the reasons why I loved the book, and of course, the plot and characters were amazing too. There weren't any major plot twists but that could be because I kept expecting one, but didn't exactly receive it.

And that's all for this review. I recommend this book to those of you who find mysteries and main characters who can't remember that one key moment which could help solve the entire mystery. Kind of like the book [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1402749479l/16143347._SY75_.jpg|21975829] by E Lockhart.

heykellyjensen's review against another edition

3.0

Jason Milwaukee -- Freak -- and his two friends Drip and Sunshine are part of the alphabet class. They prefer thinking of it that way, rather than as the class for kids who have all kinds of mental disorders. Freak suffers from schizophrenia, and he struggles on a daily (hourly, minutely) basis to break through those voices to hear his own.

All three of these kids are subject to relentless bullying, especially from Roland and Linden. It's one particularly brutal bullying day, though, when the story unfolds. When Jason gets home, he learns that Sunshine never made it home. That she's disappeared. And since she suffers from a number of alphabetic issues, the police are on the case immediately. Everyone is a suspect in her disappearance, including Freak and Drip.

But what's worse is Freak thinks he knows what happened to Sunshine. He can't break through the voices in his head though or connect the pieces of what she told him earlier that week. About her step father. About her fears. Even though Sunshine is missing, and even though Freak wants nothing more than to help find her, he can't get away from the bullies that easily.

Vaught once again delivers with an emotionally-satisfying read. Freak's fears, his worries, and his inability to grapple with his place in the world (in the bigger world and in the immediate world) are authentic. Even though he's a victim of so many circumstances, he's never a true victim in the story. Readers aren't manipulated into feeling sympathy for him because of his disorder; rather, we feel sympathy and empathy for him because he cares so much about what's going on outside himself, despite the real and hard challenges he has personally.

While I found the use of Freak's voices an important element of the story, since they put the reader right in his mind and help explain why it is he can't be forthright or clear of thought, they did take me out of the story multiple times. This is purposeful. This is smart. But it didn't make it an easier read, and it made connecting with the grander story and the mystery of Sunshine's disappearance difficult. More than that though, I took issue with

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the ending. It felt too easy. I kind of knew via Freak's broken thoughts that Sunshine had been being abused by her stepfather, but I didn't quite buy how easy it was for him to end up seeing her again.

Also, I thought

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the fact their teacher was also somehow abusive and an untrustworthy adult was a little bit too much in the story. I think Vaught handles this very well, especially because this solidifies why Freak is distrustful toward many of the adults wanting him to help them solve the mystery, but it ultimately didn't work for me.

I dug how much Freak, Drip, and Sunshine cared about each other not just because of their diagnoses; they care about one another deeply as human beings, no conditions attached. All of them saw that bullying was vile and that bullying took a number of different forms. But they didn't ever allow themselves to be victims or allow one another to fall victim either.

The bulk of this book takes place over the course of a day, and the pacing works quite well. As usual, I'm impressed with Vaught's character development and depth -- she really is writing some of the strongest contemporary fiction out there. Readers who dig stories told from the mindset of someone struggling with a mental disorder, with schizophrenia, with bullying, will want to pick this book up. Fans of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime will want to pick this up. Even though the main character here isn't autistic, there are the parallels of one character using his own unique intellectual strengths to solve a mystery.

sunbear98's review against another edition

4.0

Freak, Drip, and Sunshine have been the best of friends since elementary school. They are "alphabets" meaning they are special ed kids, all with different needs. Sunshine goes missing after school one day and the mystery and heartache begin.

I actually raced through this book. The characterizations of Freak and his friends is fabulous. I was so sorry to finish the book and leave Freak behind. He is a really great kid.