an amazing story of two unlikely friends who make the most of the world they live in and the cards they are handed.

it's a short story but it is so well done, stands the test of time, and sucks you right in! My heart was racing and then breaking near the end. What a tough life those two have. ( )

I gave this a read because I was curious about it and my daughter read it at 10 and it was going to go off to the library book sale. It starts a little slow, but picks up to a good pace midway through this short book. It also has the classic flavor of the tween books from when I was growing up (this came out a little past that time). It does a good job of connecting you to the characters just to rip your heart out at the end. I felt like it borrowed inspiration from a few other literary sources (Huck Finn strongly at a point) but is still a good read for tweens. ( )

2.5 Stars ( )

While this review indicates a 2019 read date, I have read it every year since then.

I read this over and over in middle school. Freak and I had so much in common! Not the same condition, though. I was a sick kid who is now a sick adult, but thanks to Disability Twitter and Disability YouTube, I have a community. I didn't before, so I lived vicariously through Freak, or tried. When I read this again today as an adult, I thought I'd pick up on things differently. Not really. The book is accessible to both kids and adults, which feels kind of rare. I admire the author for this. The movie adaptation is really faithful and it was so great to see the book come to life. The author's fine with it, even. I watched some of his videos on YouTube. The book warmed my heart, made me laugh, gave me hope, made me nervous and scared, then broke my heart. I remembered everything that happened but oh, I was still so sad. As an adult, I realized something I hadn't as a kid: Freak knew. He knew the whole time, and he made up an elaborate story to cope. I have so many feelings. I'm so glad this book was written, that I read it as a kid, and now. ( )

This book is a great book for middle school students and I have used it used in my classroom to teach many issues such as: friendship, bullying, and confidence. The plot keeps their attention and there are many good activities to keep them engaged. ( )