Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark (review)

Brendan has no idea what to make of the way he feels within his body: he’s jealous of girls with their easy communication, smooth skin and pretty clothes, but he’s undeniably happy with the way his body responds during sex with Vanessa, whom he genuinely loves. He knows he’s not like the flamboyant trans kids at LGBTQ teen center; nor is he like the quieter and more settled Angel, who has always known that she was meant to be a girl despite her birth sex. Three perspectives—Brendan’s, Angel’s, and Vanessa’s—braid the story of Brendan’s frustration into a moving portrayal of two very different ways gender dysphoria can manifest itself. While Brendan oscillates between depression, denial, secret exploration, and thoughts of suicide, Angel is a warrior, having already emerged from a history of rejection, abuse, and life on the streets before she was taken in by a supportive foster mother. She is now enjoying life in a warm, loving community, studying to be a social worker, and eager to help kids like Brendan, even if it means breaking a few rules to do so. Vanessa provides the voice of a heteronormative outsider in this drama, worrying about her depressed boyfriend, enjoying their newfound sexual relationship, sure that he loves her, but feeling helpless and rejected when he won’t talk to her. Each voice finds a distinct register in the well-made poetry of this verse novel that plays with font and shape on the page as lithely and effectively as it does with the language itself; the result is an effective visual and verbal echo of the poignant emotions that play out as Vanessa and Brendan, with Angel’s help, square their shoulders to face their new reality. Online support resources and suggestions for further nonfiction reading are included.