In Freaky Green Eyes, by Joyce Carol Oates, a girl named Francesca who’s usually called Franky, discovers her alter ego, Freak Green Eyes. When she attends a college/ high school party, she almost gets raped by a college age guy. She breaks free from his grasp by kicking and screaming which is how she discovered Freaky Green Eyes. Her father is a former NFL football player, and is now a famous sports announcer. Her mom and her father are going through a tough time in their relationship and her mother is often not home, she’s in Skagit Harbor where she has a cottage. The dad is always trying to tell Franky and her younger sister, Samantha, that their mother is leaving them and that she’s at fault. The dad finally lets the girls visit their mother in Skagit Harbor one weekend. They have a lot of fun there, and they meet their mother’s new friend, Mero. The dad barged in on their weekend, angrily arriving at Skagit Harbor ordering the girls to get in the car. He drives the girls home and they only talk to their mother one time after that. The dad kills Mero and the mother the next night. They were assumed to have “disappeared”. Franky found her mother’s old journal in the shed by her cottage, and in it are descriptions of how Reid, her father, had beat her and threatened to kill her. Reid Pierson is sentenced to 50 years in prison.
I like this book because it was pretty interesting and pretty different. I disliked it because the end was very disturbing and depressing. Franky says, "Something is going to happen. The worst you can think...Muffled, through the walls. A raised voice. Dad's voice. Controlled and reasonable....The second voice, the weaker voice....I feel scorn for it." pg. 47 Oates. This shows how abusive Reid was. "The scarfs Mom began wearing....And shawls. And long-sleeved shirts, pullovers. Sometimes the sleeves drooped to her wrists, hiding her wrists. Hiding what? Bruises on her wrists, on her neck and upper arms? Angry red welts made by a man's strong fingers?” pg. 51 Oates.
It’s such a horrible thing that happened to Franky and Samantha. They have to live alone without a mom or a dad now, just their aunt. I would only recommend this book to readers who don’t mind very sad o disturbing stories. I rate this book a 3 because I do like sad stories. Overall I would recommend this book to people. I think Joyce Carol Oates did a very good job of displaying the problems of abuse.