Freakboy - Paperback

by Kristin Elizabeth Clark (Author)

A powerful novel in verse told from the points of view of a genderqueer teenager, the teen's girlfriend, and a trans woman

"An important story, written with compassion and startling insight." --Ellen Hopkins, The New York Times-bestselling author of the Crank trilogy

From the outside, Brendan Chase seems to have it pretty easy. Brendan is a star wrestler, a video game aficionado, and a loving significant other to seemingly perfect match, Vanessa.

But Brendan feels so wrong. Why does Brenan sometimes fantasize having long hair, soft skin, and gentle curves? Is there even a name for people like Brendan? People who are assigned male at birth but who sometimes want to be girls? Or is Brendan just a freak?

In Freakboy's razor-sharp verse, Kristin Clark folds three narratives into one powerful story: Brendan's exploration of gender; Vanessa, who fights to keep her and Brendan's relationship alive; and Angel, a woman who's struggling to confront her own demons.

Praise for Freakboy:

"Debut novelist Clark uses free verse to write a gripping story about a complex topic: the challenges of growing up transgender or genderqueer." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This gutsy, tripartite poem explores a wider variety of identities--cis-, trans-, genderqueer--than a simple transgender storyline, making it stand out." --Kirkus Review, starred review

Author Biography

Kristin Elizabeth Clark always knew she wanted to be a writer. She began dabbling in haiku in the third grade - this "experimentation" turned out to be a gateway to the harder stuff: book-length verse. She lives and writes in Northern California where she has worked as a child advocate within the juvenile justice system, and as a children's theatre producer. She is a proud volunteer at Project Outlet in Mountain View, CA. Freakboy is her young adult debut.