Freakling (review)

Twelve-year-old Taemon is kind, principled, and clever—and now completely lacking in psi, the telekinetic ability around which his entire society is structured. The ability to use your psi is predicated on morality—it won’t work if you go against your own conscience—and Taemon’s gift disappeared after he almost killed his cruel, power-hungry older brother Yens, who had left him to drown. After Taemon is exiled to a nearby community for the psi-less (which welcomes him warmly), Yens is chosen as the True Son, a figurehead for the corrupt priesthood that rules their society. Numerous plot threads converge—impending war with a neighboring country, Taemon’s spiritual awakening, the potentially deadly secrets of the psi-less community—with rising urgency. Krumwiede explores a multitude of themes, including the corrupting influence of power, the distinctions between religious faith and religious institutions, and the social construction of disability, with a light and creative hand; this is a smart book, but never a preachy one. The world in which psi has replaced all other kinds of “primitive” advancement is constructed in fascinating detail, as are the prophecies, moral teachings, and perceptions of human traits and destinies built around a zodiac-like calendar system. Taemon is a strong, likable character, both childlike and heroic, with the classic appeal of the perennial outsider who nevertheless yearns for home. Reminiscent of Le Guin’s Gifts (BCCB 10/04) or Lowry’s The Giver (BCCB 4/93) in its moral curiosity and understated complexity, this debut novel builds to a startling, satisfying resolution that opens up to a new universe of possibilities that readers will be eager to imagine. Looking for a dystopia book that runs a little younger than the usual suspects? Look no further.