Name: The Stereotypical Freaks
ISBN: 9780578112176

Howard Shapiro

Stereotypical Freaks deals with realistic, universal issues young adult readers can identify with including bullying, identity and acceptance.

The Stereotypical Freaks

Four disparate high school seniors come together to compete in their school’s battle of the bands. Sharing a love for playing rock and roll, the members name the band “The Stereotypical Freaks” because they feel stereotyped by their classmates – smart kid, geek, star athlete and quiet weirdo… when in fact they know they are much more than those labels that have been placed on them. When one member reveals life altering news, winning the competition takes on more of a meaning to each member. Scared and angry, upset and yet still with a lot of resolve they set out to win one for the good guys… will they? Howard Shapiro has written four children’s books including the critically acclaimed Hockey Days and its sequel Hockey Player of Life. He lives in Pittsburg.

Eleanor Luhar

This is a relatively short book, though it's long for a single comic/graphic novel. It's pretty different to the other comics I've read - there is no epic fight scene, no caped vigilante. But there is a hero, and there is one epic battle.

The general plot involves four teenagers coming together to compete in a "Battle of the Bands" competition. Danny and Tom are good friends already, often jamming out together in Tom's garage. But they can't win a competition as just a duo - it's time to recruit new musicians.

The kids they find end up being Tom's childhood friend, Mark, and the strange new kid, Jacoby. They start forming a strong bond, until Danny voices his concerns about Mark and his different crew of friends. 

Jacoby eventually opens up to the band about his personal problems, too. They never would have guessed what incredible war he's been fighting in secret. But he's their friend, and they're more motivated than ever to practice hard and win the competition.

The art is pretty simplistic, without any colour. Each chapter features "Recommended Listening" which is a great touch for music fans. And I really like both the conflict between Mark's new 'popular' friends and the band, and the huge weight that Jacoby is carrying. The ending is bittersweet, realistic. But I did notice that the issue with Mark and his mates is not resolved, which is kind of annoying.

This is a really refreshing story, confronting an issue that is all too real for many young people. It doesn't sugarcoat it, but it doesn't make it sound like hell, either. It's just honest, and I think that's really good.

It does provoke some emotion which is fantastic, but I didn't feel much connection with the individual characters on the whole. And the plot is... meh. I like that it's about Jacoby's illness and him wanting to carry on despite it, but I also feel like it dominates the story a bit too much. Like, the illness has become his identity, taken over the whole story. It's good to focus on it, of course, but I'm not sure it should've been the only plot.

I think about 3.5 stars is appropriate for this. It's different, honest, and great for any music fans.

Siobhán

My 4Star review: http://totally-bookalicious.blogspot....

Abi Baker

I absolute adore graphic novels, and as a music business student, The Stereotypical Freaks is something that is right up my alley.

The Stereotypical Freaks focuses on two friends signing up for a local battle of the bands contest, recruiting two new members, and forming life-changing friendships. 

I wasn’t expecting a lack of colour whilst reading this, as the cover itself was engaging and colourful. To start with I thought it could have benefitted from being coloured, however the further I got into the story, the less it mattered, and the less I noticed it. This truly is a powerful story of friendship and overcoming stereotypes and other people’s ideas of what you should be and who exactly you are. Jacoby’s story was truly heart-breaking and added a nice spin on what could’ve been a stereotypical story that’s been told before. The dynamic between the four was great, and whilst it was made clear that Tom was the main character, it was nice to see the friendship between Jacoby and Mark and Jacoby and Dan explored as well. I loved that although we only saw glimpses of some of the characters, they all felt well-rounded and realistic.

I absolutely loved the recommended listening at the start of each chapter, and it added an extra element to the story listening to these songs whilst reading (also I adore most of the artists mentioned, I mean, who doesn’t love Led Zeppelin and The Who, so definitely no complaints from me on that front). I also appreciated that the characters weren’t afraid to cry, again bucking popular stereotypes of males being unwilling to cry.

The only thing that let The Stereotypical Freaks down was the character of Jealinthe. I understand that she was the reasoning for Tom signing up for the battle of the bands competition, however I felt this was really her only purpose (I know she was also used as a metaphor for overcoming fears, however other metaphors were also used, so this wasn’t entirely necessary). Dan and his enthusiasm could have been the reason for Tom signing up and it wouldn’t have felt any less authentic. As this was a story of friendship, it probably would have felt more authentic that he would have signed up for him. At times, the dialogue also felt a bit awkward, however it was easy to overlook this as most of the time it flowed nicely. 

This is a touching tale of male friendship and the power of being able to do what you love and overcoming your fears.

The Stereotypical Freaks

Reviews

Highlights