I, Emma Freke
Emma Freke, aside from having an unfortunate name, is at an awkward stage in life. She’s 12, about to hit puberty, has a new age-y mother and is the tallest girl in her class. She’s also got crippling self-esteem issues. I’m sure we all remember our middle school/pre-teen years. I know I was super awkward (and still kind of am). Hello, my friends and I dressed up as the Sailor Scouts for a play. I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson is the sort of book I would have loved in middle school. I would have easily related to Emma’s search for identity and acceptance. I mean, what kid doesn’t experience moments of self-doubt?
I won’t lie. I’m not a huge fan of middle grade fiction. Personally, I find it a little young. Please, don’t burn me at the stake for that, it’s just my preference. However, I won’t discount all middle grade as badly written, or terrible. As, I do find there are some gems that do work for me. Mainly older MG and Percy Jackson (holla atcha Lightning Thief!!). So, I, Emma Freke came as a gentle surprise to me. I was surprised at how much I genuinely enjoyed this book. I mean, I grabbed this at BEA because I wanted to check out some books published by Carolrhoda. This was certainly a good choice.
Atkinson has a fabulous character in Emma. As a reader, we can feel just how uncomfortable Emma is in her own skin. She’s rather straight-laced in comparison to her hippie mother. Emma feels awkward. She feels she doesn’t fit in at school because she looks older than everyone else. And, she doesn’t know her father. However, all of this changes when one day Emma gets an invitation to the Freke family reunion in the mail. This is a part of the family she’s never met. What ensues is a journey of self-discovery and accepting yourself, quirks and all.
What can I say, except if you know an awkward middle schooler, hand them I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson. They deserve to go on Emmas journey and meet the other characters in the novel.
Also, bonus points, there are lesbian moms in the novel and it is totes NONCHALANT. Yes, awesome.
Disclosure: Book picked up for review at BEA.
Other Reviews:
The Happy Nappy Book Seller
i swim for oceans
Diary of a Bibliophile
Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/ Better World Books/ The Book Depository/ Indiebound
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April (Books&Wine) – who has written 1074 posts on Good Books And Good Wine.
April is 24 years old. She is an educator. In her free time she can be found reading, working out, or eating junk food. She often wears her sunglasses at night.
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Don’t worry, we won’t burn you at the stake
(I personally also prefer YA). Middle School was seriously the most awkward/miserable time of my life. Just from reading your review I can already relate to Emma.
Yes, I was miserable during middle school. It was such a weird stage.
I also don’t really like MG for the same reason-it’s a perfectly valid personal preference! However this does look promising and I think the cover is very pretty.
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