The best thing about the book, and the one that convinces me to overlook its fairly notable flaws, is the sheer commitment to creating its own universe. There are a few subtle and not-so-subtle clues as to when the action is taking place (obviously after car travel is commonplace, video tapes are mentioned at least once) but the time period is basically irrelevant. It's a book that demands the reader accept the morality of the characters on its own terms but also, especially with the wildly unreliable narration of Oly, accepts the reality of the book and its characters on its own terms. ( )

If you like dark, you'll love this. ( )

I do love to find the unconventional story. ( )

The fact that I didn't like Geek Love isn't because it was repulsive or offensive. In fact, that's where "the half of a star" to distinguish it from total crap comes from: I found it disturbing enough for me to go through half of the book looking forward of what will come out of this - and still distrubing enough, after I got bored and somehow managed it through the second half, not to erase it out of my memory in the near future.

The main problem were the storylines. There was ideas (freaks-normalcy, standards in society etc.), but they got lost somewhere under the effort to be repulsive. But Geek Love didn't succeed in being repulsive or provoke thoughts about adjusting to the society as a freak, because the people involved in the carnival weren't very human. Maybe they were made to seem like they've all lost their emotions and intelligence to drugs, but then, what's the point? Don't be a freak, because the only way to live is under the influence? Miranda was the only exception, but unfortunately a possibility to tell a story about a (mild) freak in the real world with real feelings was cut short. ( )

Al and Lil Binewski own a failing carnival, which they revive by creating a family of freaks though chemical abuse during pregnancy. Not just standard drugs, but pesticides, radioisotopes, and more. The story is narrated by their daughter Olympia, a bald albino hunchback dwarf, who often bemoans her relative normalcy (you should see her siblings). It's a fascinating look at not only carnival life, but how we view physical beauty in general. Do we really envy those who are completely normal, or those who proudly display their differences? The description is raw, shocking, and painfully vivid, but like a carnival freak show, you just can't look away. You have to keep reading, to get a better look, to see what they'll do next. This is not the sort of book that will appeal to everyone, or even most people, but I really enjoyed it. If nothing else, it was very different from most other things I've read. ( )