Book #4 in the Big Book Read

I borrowed a stack of books recently from my friend Lisa. She is usually my source for a good read, and I have to confess, all 3 of my thus-far postings for the Big Book Read have been books from her; number 4 is one as well. But I'm wondering how she ended up with these books that are, I now see, geared for the younger reader?!? Not that they aren't really good books! Many of my most favorite books ever are those written for a younger audience: for example, "Walk Two Moons," by Sharon Creech --- if you haven't read it, do. It's awesome. I may just have to re-read it so I can write about it here!

Book number 4 in the Big Book Read marathon is "Freaky Green Eyes," by Joyce Carol Oates, published in 2003. It's another story about a family with a secret, and this secret is so huge that even the people closest to it keep it a secret from themselves.

As an adult myself, it's easy for me to be aware that all kinds of people can be in major denial about the things going on in their lives, in their families. In my work, I have learned that children often love and cling to those who may be abusing them, feeling that this is all they know, and that this is all they have. I also know that adults, especially women, often behave the same way toward an abuser.
In "Freaky Green Eyes," Francesca "Franky" Pierson, 15 years old, tells us, in a first person narrative, the story of her family: her dynamic, charismatic father; submissive, artistic mother; timid 10-year-old sister Samantha; college football-playing brother Todd. And Franky herself, who discovers at age 14 another voice inside her head, strong and not a little scary, a voice that tells the truth. She names this "other" -- "Freaky Green Eyes." And it is Freaky that finally helps Franky see what has been going on in her life, in her family.
As Franky narrates her story, we, her audience, begin to see very clearly what it is that Franky and her siblings can't - or won't. A father who is a celebrity, former pro football star now sportscaster, for whom image matters a great deal, for whom family matters a great deal. A disciplinarian who maintains order in this family through psychological manipulation, physical punishment, and terror. A mother desperate, frightened - and stuck. A younger sister so suppressed her true feelings can only come out in nightmares. And an older brother so inured to the situation, he believes all is well, all is right, and who is on a path that will only create a monster like his own father in himself sooner rather than later.
The tension in this story builds and builds to a terrible event, and we wonder if Franky will listen to the voice of Freaky in time to save any of them.

Joyce Carol Oates has a deserved reputation as a writer, and "Freaky Green Eyes" will stick in your head.