Freaky Green Eyes

Reviewed by Mark Frye, author and reviewer for TeensReadToo.com

Prolific author Joyce Carol Oates delivers yet again with FREAKY GREEN EYES. With a plot that gradually unfolds to expose a family's destructive private life, this book covers a topic touched upon by many but seldom handled so artfully.

As in her previous novels, such as WE WERE THE MULVANEYS, Oates unveils a family that is picture-perfect to the world at large but dysfunctional and horrific behind closed doors.

The narrator -- Franky -- unveils the true nature of her father slowly, shocking the reader by the level of her own denial, but is blunt with her criticism towards her mother, whom she views as weak and unloving for moving away. The reader will want to love Reid, the show more broadcaster and former football star, as the world does, but something is not "right" about how ordered he keeps his family. When their mother leaves, Franky and her younger sister Samantha have no buffer in their lives and begin to see their dad's true nature.

The strength of FREAKY GREEN EYES is Oates' narrator and manner of narration. Descriptions are scant and to the point, dialogue is crisp and revealing, and her use of foreknowledge keeps the reader feeling "edgy" until the climax. The reader sees Franky's world through the flawed understanding of a co-dependent child in an abusive home. Children in this type of environment react to the truth as they see it, not as it necessarily really is, and often quite illogically. In this regard, Joyce's "voice" for Franky is quite realistic. A girl her age would not be able to handle things any better than she does in this novel.

But Franky's strengths are as realistic as her shortcomings. Her growth as a character begins in the first chapter and continues to the story's conclusion. "Freaky Green Eyes" is the willful, strong side of her personality, first unveiled while fending off a rapist, a side she relies heavily upon as she begins to doubt her father's version of events regarding her mother's eventual disappearance. The realism of Franky's flaws and strengths gives her story strong appeal.

This is a masterful young adult novel about the sensitive subject of domestic violence. Readers will empathize with children growing up in such an environment after reading it. Highly recommended. show less

Non so perché, questo libro è rimasto nella mia libreria per anni. Mi ero messa in testa che fosse una storia per ragazzi. Una favola, insomma. Invece è un romanzo nero, una storia cruda e dolorosa di famiglia disfunzionale. Vista con gli occhi di una figlia adolescente, occhi bendati dall'amore e dal bisogno di essere amata. JCO è semplicemente un genio. Vede le cose dal di dentro degli altri, e degli altri sa riprodurre linguaggio e forma del pensiero. Non mi stancherò mai di leggerla.
Questo è un libro breve e relativamente semplice. E' semplice il linguaggio, è scorrevole il testo. L'ideale per chi vuole avvicinarsi a questa autrice.

It took me a while to get into this book, but by the middle, I was captivated. I didn't connect with the character of Freaky, but I could see how it could be a personality within Franky that she could use to admit things to herself. The story is part fascinating and part sad, and it gives a glimpse of how Franky, Samantha, and their mother felt trapped by their father, and why they would lie to themselves to protect themselves. It's particularly revealing when I think about a documentary I recently watched on multiple personality disorder (which I think is now called dissociative personality disorder). If it isn't safe to know something, you have to create a separate identity for the part that knows it.

Oates is able to get into the mind of Franky, a teen girl with an abusive father, including the slight exploration of a more powerful girl inside her, Freaky. While I don't believe this is a story about a full multiple personality, it is a story about what it takes to deal with emotional trauma.

And as much as I adore Oates on a regular basis, this story didn't seem as strong to me. Franky doesn't feel as fully formed as other characters Oates has written, and the story, while ultimately disturbing doesn't have as much of a complete arch that I have come to expect of Oates' writing.

Something was missing for me, and I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but there was definitely a hole in the story. Feeling more of the distinction show more between the before and after might have been helpful. Seeing Franky have a good relationship with her mother would have been helpful... some glimmer of what causes Franky to come around to her memories, but too much would have taken away from the sulkiness that is teenagers. I get that. The family just never seemed in balance, and I was always waiting for it. show less

Handling & Tema : 3/5
Karaktärerna: 3/5
Miljöbeskrivning: 3/5
Språk och berättarkonst 3/5 :

Viste om att Joyce Carol Oates har skrivit ungdomsböcker. Viste inte heller om att Vilda gröna ögon var en bok för yngre läsare, det var främst bokens titel som gjorde mig intresserad. Jag älskar Joyce Carol Oates och därför ingen överraskning att jag även slukade denna bok. Hennes Personbeskrivningar är fenomenala! Oavset vad handlingen är eller vilken av hennes böcker vi talar om är boken ingenting utan de personer hon skapar.
I vilda gröna ögon dår vi följa en familj, den äldsta av två systrar är berättarerösten i boken. en familj som består av en äldre bror , två systrar och deras föräldrar. Pappan i familjen är show more den allt kretsar kring, charmig rik och, berömd sportreporter medan mamman håller sig i bakgrunden, trivs inte i rampljuset. De är en framgångsrik familj men bakom stängda dörrar döljer sig hemligheter.
På grund av att boken riktar sig till yngre läsare kan den även uppskattas av de läsare som tycker om Joyce Carol Oates men som många gångerupplevwr att böckerna blir för långdragna med så mycket beskrivningar.
IVilda gröna ögon har inte förlorat Joyce Carol Oates karismatiska språk och show less

Colter Brantz
EDCI 4120/5120

Oates, Joyce Carol. (2003). Freaky green eyes. New York: Harper tempest.

Grade Levels: 7-10
Category: Realistic Fiction

Read-Alouds: 12-19 (Freaky’s arrival) 125-146 (Reed’s dark side) 317-334 (Picking allegiance)

Summary: Franky Pearson is the mild mannered daughter of famous and well loved former athlete Reed Pearson. From the outside, Reed appears to be the best father anyone could hope for, and the best T.V. personality that money can buy. As the story progresses we learn that Franky has an alter-ego named Freaky Green Eyes, who takes care of her when she needs to be the aggressor in a given situation. It becomes apparent that reed is not the father of the year candidate that the public believes him to show more be, and Franky’s mother moves out of the house with scarves covering the telltale signs of physical abuse. The further the story goes on the more clear it becomes just ho dangerous Reed really is, and it becomes more and more apparent that Freaky is going to have to take control. Eventually Franky’s mother and her friend go missing and reed is the prime suspect, but Franky refuses to believe that her father is at fault. Freaky is then forced to take control and find the evidence that will vindicate her mother and incarcerate her father.

Themes: The most prominent theme is the belief that victims of abuse have that they are to blame for the ways in which they are abused. In concordance with this is the idea that the abused must find a way to regain the control of their own lives and not let the abuser dictate their existence. Last, the truth is the only way to truly be righteous regardless of the consequences.

Discussion Questions:
Does Reed love his family? Can abusers be unequivocally accused of not loving, or is it more complicated?
What role does Freaky play in this story? Is she a necessary figure, or is Oates simply having fun?
What is the significance of Franky/Freaky’s decision to free the animals of the Blunt’s amateur zoo? How does it inform the rest of the story?


Reader Response: The style of writing is very simple and to the point, but the story itself allows for deep consideration. Oates admirably grants an alternative perspective into the reality of crimes that are tried in full view of the public. The book is a great testament to the will that is required to overcome victimization, and the consequences for those who are not strong enough to break the cycle. Oates is careful to never blame the victim, but also points out the need to act on one’s own behalf. The one drawback that I found in this book is that apart from Franky and Reed, the characters are not overly articulated. It is difficult to really know anybody other than the two primary characters and this takes away from the impact that the story could have. It may be that Oates was presenting the effect that victimization has on individual identity, and if so, she completes the task well, but I tend to think that this is not the case. show less

The intended audience for this book might find it more readable than I did. For me, it paralleled the Nicole Brown Simpson story too closely for comfort. Aside from the "real life" connection, which made it a bit difficult for me to stomach, this was a compelling book about a difficult topic. The main character, Franky, is especially believable in her insecurities and her stubbornness, as well as her conflicted feelings about both of her parents.