Freak Show
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Billy Bloom is gay, but it’s mostly theoretical, as he hasn’t had much experience. When he has to move to Florida, he can’t believe his bad luck. His new school is a mix of Bible Belles, Aberzombies, and Football Heroes, none of which are exactly his type. Billy’s efforts to fit in and stand out at the same time are both hilarious and heartrending. In this novel from adult author and media personality James St. James, readers are in for a wild ride as he tells Billy’s fascinating story of bravado, pain, and unexpected love, inspired by his own experiences.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As big a splash as St. James (Disco Bloodbath) made on the Club Kid circuit in the 1980s and '90s, his entree into the YA world may prove to be equally fraught with controversy and over-the-top fabulousness. Billy Bloom, a scrawny, pale redhead, plays the novel's underdog and champion a 17-year-old for whom the phrase "drag queen" is scarcely sufficient. Frenetically narrating with a tongue seemingly dipped in both acid and silver, Billy recounts his abrupt transplant from life with his mother in Darien, Conn., to Fort Lauderdale, where he now lives with his wealthy and distant father. Billy finds himself a high school senior enrolled at the Eisenhower Academy, populated with "Stepford teens in full preen. In your choice of blond or blonder." St. James pulls no punches in describing the escalating verbal and physical abuse Billy suffers at the hands of his classmates. On a day when he comes to school outfitted as a primeval swamp queen ("This is not a dress, it's an ecosystem"), Billy's peers so brutally attack him that he goes into a coma. Yet he finds an unlikely ally in the gorgeous and universally adored football player Flip Kelly. Rather than leave the academy, Billy takes a stand for outcasts everywhere by running for homecoming queen, and attracts statewide media attention. In Billy Bloom, St. James has created an archetypal hero for outsiders and freaks. Though the subject matter and language will likely prove controversial, it's nearly impossible to remain untouched after walking a mile in the stilettos of someone so unfailingly true to himself and so blisteringly funny. Ages 14-up.
Customer Reviews
BEST BOOK EVER!
Seriously amazing. James St. James writes this book as if he is in a conversation with you. A hilarious and upbeat story.
makes all of us wish we had a flip kelly in our lives!
Amazing. Fabulous. Fierce.
Must read this book, it has such a great message(:
Amazing
When I read James St. James first book, Disco Bloodbath, I was amazed by his vivid writing. When I finished the book I couldn't wait for his next masterpiece!
So when Freakshow came out I immediately bought it and read away.
When I finished the book I was completely struck by it. James St. James knows how to write and he uses his talent extremely well.