Summary
Franky Pierson was almost raped shortly after she turned 14. In order to help herself deal with the trauma, she created an alter ego known as "Freaky Green Eyes," a quick-thinking persona whose strength she believes helped her escape from her attacker. This persona also helps her deal with her parents' separation and her subsequent decision to live with her sports-broadcaster father (an ex-football player) and shut down her relationship with her artist mother. However, when her mother mysteriously disappears and is later found murdered, Franky begins to realize that her father's personality has some very dark aspects-and that he might even be responsible for her mother's death. Joyce Carol Oates's novel is reminiscent of the events in the O.J. Simpson case. Named one of the Best Children's Books 2003 by Publishers Weekly.
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Media Reviews
"Oates crafts an unflinching look at Franky's struggle to define herself against a backdrop of family violence, turning what could have been rendered as a sensationalistic 'ripped-from-the-headlines' melodrama into a quietly gripping, beautifully written, impeccably paced psychological thriller."
-- Kirkus
"The gray Northwest setting provides a fitting parallel to the heroine's life, where facts are often hard to see. Oates builds the mounting tension masterfully, crafting a fast-paced narrative that will haunt readers long after the final page."
-- Publishers Weekly
"There's enough tension and pulse-pounding to appeal to thriller aficionados as well as those reading for the human dynamics, and young people just beginning to cast a sharp eye at their parents' human frailties will find perspective (or perhaps bitter satisfaction) in the notion of a father with feet of truly dangerous clay." -- Deborah Stevenson
-- Bulletin of the Center for Children\'s Books
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Harpercollins
Published date: 2003
Edition: 1th edition
Size: 5.5 x 7.5 inches
Weight: 1 pounds
Ages: 7 to 9
Pages: 341
Synopses
Fourteen-year-old Frankie relates the events of the year leading up to her mother's mysterious disappearance and her own struggle to discover and accept the truth about her parents' relationship.
Publisher's Notes
Later, I would think of it as crossing over. From a known territory into an unknown. From a place where people know you to a place where people only think they know you. It began with me a year ago this past July. A few weeks after my fourteenth birthday. When Freaky Green Eyes came into my heart. When her parents separate, Franky Pierson has no trouble deciding whose side she's on. After all, her mother is the one who chose to leave. And when her mother is suddenly reported missing, Franky believes she's simply pulled a disappearing act and deserted their family for good. But a part of Franky, a part she calls Freaky Green Eyes, knows that something is wrong. And it's up to Freaky to open Franky's eyes to the truth.
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