So far in this book i've learned that Abel Dandy is a 17 year old boy who grew up a circus in which it only had freak-showes. Abel is the only charecter whoes "normal". Oneday he desides that he is of no use to his family or to the show so he runs away to join a circus where he would become a knive thrower. A friend of his from his home circus is apollo, who is a dog-boy, folloed him. He gets cought and he is kicked out. They find wwork at a gentelmens boarding house untill apollo is taken to join another traveling freakshow. Abel keeps haveing dreams about some lady that is telling him to find her.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were so completely different from each other, yet they all played an intricate part in each other lives

Very fun young adult novel about a young man in the late 1800s who runs away from the "freak show" where he grew up (his mom has no arms and his dad has no legs) since his lack of a physical oddity gives him nothing to do. He runs into more adventure than he anticipated, some very unsavory characters, and an attractive and mysterious older woman. Very well written characters and a nice sense of action make the hit-you-on-the-head message of everyone being a little bit of a freak very palatable.

Abel Dandy is the only normal person at Faeryland. He doesn't seem to have one odd thing about him - and although he has grown up around these people, he suddenly doesn't feel like he belongs.
Abel decides it's time for him to leave and find his fortune. But the world outside Faeryland is quite tough and Abel feels even more alone and like he doesn't belong than before. The only thing that seems to give him a bit of comfort is his dreams of a beautiful dancing girl from Egypt.
On Abel's adventure to find his fortune, he instead finds mishaps and something - or perhaps someone - he thought he had left behind. Finally Abel finds a freak show run by a man named Dr. Mink and hopes that he might be able to use his talent of knife throwing. But Abel soon learns that this freak show holds many dark secrets.

There was so much going on this book, whether it was bad or good. Something was always happening and I was always eager to turn the next page to find out what was going to happen next.
I think all the characters in this book are memorable, even the bad guys. I really liked a lot of the characters, even the ones labeled as freaks. They were actually my favorite. Sure, they didn't look normal, but they went through struggles just like anyone else does. I think what this book does a great job of showing is that those we call "freaks" are just like us. Maybe not in appearance, but what does appearance really matter anyway?
Abel, Apollo, Mr. Ginger, Ruby Lightfoot, Bess, Mr. Bopp, Willie and so many more wonderful characters that you can't help but love and feel every emotion they feel.
I also thought the story was great and full of adventure. I guess it was more like misadventure since nothing ever seemed to go Abel's way.
Annette Curtis Klause definitely tells a good story and I think it really shows how much research she had done and she gets her points across quite well in this book. The author's note at the end is also wonderful.
In short, great book! It's become a favorite of mine and something I'd love to read again.

I've always been fascinated by circus stories, especially ones that are a bit dark and infused with magic. I think this one had some moments, but the problematic outweighed the good in the end.

Raised as an outsider even among the band of outsiders that make up their circus and "oddity" community, Abel is looking for a way to break away and find his own fortune. Running away ends up raising more questions than answers however, as he finds himself haunted by unsettling recurring dreams as he's surrounded by real life threats.

There's something that can be said in the underlying theme of embracing difference and overturning an exploitative system into one that allows for empowerment and creativity. There is a beauty in that, and those are the parts of the story I enjoyed the most. Apollo "the Puppy Boy" has one of the best arcs in this respect--even better than Abel's, I would say. Also, for a story where *very* dark things happen (including murder and child abuse) it manages to wrap on a very uplifting note.

Unfortunately, then there are the problems. The N
-word is dropped on a number of occasions in passing. Even having this set in the past. I feel like this was incredibly unnecessary, especially in the context it was used. It felt like a defiant choice to throw this out there (and not in a good way) especially considering how few black characters there even were. What does this serve?

Also, again I'm encountering a book where arguably the most sinister character is if not officially non-binary, at least playing with gender roles and cross-dressing. In Klause's world of "freaks" of various sizes, shapes, and abilities, there's a very heteronormative alignment with all the other characters. The bearded ladies may have beards, but they are paired with men. Ceecee is the only character that really truly plays with identity and they are clearly the only true monster (even in a show that literally bills itself a collection of traveling monsters). I wonder at this. Now, you may argue that with CeeCee it's not truly their identity but a role they are playing for profit. I think the optics and damage is the same, regardless, but I feel like there isn't enough context for us to think that it is just an act. Ceecee is still regularly wearing makeup and gender ambiguous dress even "off the clock" and even at the funeral when others are dressed down or even hidden. And as I pointed out with the other book where I encountered this recently, it's a problem for the one truly genderfluid character to be coded as a cretin and villain.

Aaaand then we have Abel. Abel has a loyalty and set of ethics that is sometimes quite admirable but even then he can be hard to root for. A lot of Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix energy at work through much of this: resentment, anger, sulkiness, hormones. Every woman or girl he encounters he sees as a possible conquest or a tool he can employ to secure the next step on his journey. The love(?) story with Abel is the weakest *and* wildest of the plot threads. I never was on board for it however it played--as a first time/first crush story or as a time-crossing, geography-defying fated love story. Curtis Klause seems to hedge her bets with both, not committing enough to either angle for the reader to feel okay about it.

On the plus side, I do feel that she did a great job of creating a recognizable homage to source material she says inspired her. Having seen the movie Freaks myself, I feel like the dynamics between the self-identified (and embracing) "freaks" feels very true in moments to what I remember from the movie. I almost wish Abel could have been allowed to find himself without the romance attached. It would have been a lot stronger. He's a better friend and brother than a boyfriend.

Can't really recommend it as her best work, but check out her other books for sure

I liked the concept of the book ("normal" kid growing up in a late-1800's/early-1900's era freak show, clearly inspired by the film Freaks and Coney Island in its heyday), but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd expected to. It feels overly sexual for YA novel, and, quite honestly, the mysterious woman subplot mostly just annoyed me. The heartwarming ending helped redeem it a bit, but...eh.

I think I need to read some freak show/carnival histories next.

I really enjoyed this one! I want to give it 4.5 stars, but since there is no option for that I went with 4.

The world of sideshow/carnival 'freaks' was really well researched. I got a real sense for the world at that time, and how a show that exploits the physical deformities of its performers could actually be an understandable way to make a living in that time period. Because the protagonist, Abel, grew up in a circus with two freaks as parents, he has a unique viewpoint for someone who is perfectly "normal". He could easily go live in the outside world and fit in without a problem, unlike his family. But he doesn't want to.

He stays with the world he knows, even when he leaves to seek adventure. He finds work with another circus and is forced to leave, and winds up with Dr. Mink's monster show... which is a dark, twisted and often scary place because of Mink's blatant disregard for decency and careless exploitation of his exhibits. He has even done illegal, immoral things in order to procure some freak children for his show... and the stories of these children is heartbreaking. Luckily, Abel comes along (with his sidekick, the dogface boy, Apollo) and is an immediate advocate for these children as well as the abused adult performers in the show. The story really takes off once Abel is part of Mink's troupe. I even got teared up as I began to become emotionally invested in the lives of these freaks.

There is also a mysterious story going on at the same time for Abel. He has dreams of an Egyptian beauty who calls to him from across the centuries, leading him to a certain destiny through her dreams. The shadowy tent housing Mink's collection of preserved oddities holds one very special exhibit that will wind up changing Abel's life forever. A haunting love story ensues, and one that I hope continued long after the book came to an end.

I recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated by turn of the 20th century pop culture-- i.e., willingness to gawk and stare at freaks in shows. I personally have always loved stories of those people, so this was a no-brainer for me to read. It's a relatively fast read, and it definitely won't remind you of any other book you've read. Very original, and very humane. If that makes sense. :)

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I bought this one used on a whim... again, read the description and a few pages and decided it sounded pretty cool. I'm hoping for something that's a cross between Roustabout and Geek Love. We'll see! (Also, I didn't know the same author wrote Blood and Chocolate, which I read awhile ago and had been thinking of reading again after I read Twilight. Cool!)

It's so weird to me, when I come across a book that is almost exactly like something that I would write myself. This story could have been plucked right out of my brain, really-- you've got your freaky characters, adventure, and an undertone of the supernatural and the incredible. Like, dude. Annette Klause has totally been spying on my brain.
But this is not about me, this is a review of her book, so... First off, I have to say that it's over the top. To a kind of startling degree. And I don't mean just because there are dwarf ladies with beards and Egyptian mummies that come to life and make out with you. I mean the writing itself, the characters, it all teems with an attitude that's like "Here's a slice of ridiculousness, now sit down and like it."
Well, I did like it. Way more than I thought I would.
At first I was dubious about it, for the main reason that the "old-fashioned adventure novel with unassuming young hero" thing has been done before, several times. It was extremely reminiscent of the type of stuff Kenneth Oppel writes-- even the hero, the likable, slightly whiny Abel Dandy, reminded me powerfully of my old friends Matt Cruse and Victor Frankenstein, from Oppel's books. But I'm not really complaining-- I really do enjoy the whiny old-fashioned hero type. And the time period, of course. I loved that. It was a late 1890s railroad America and poor Abel was constantly falling off train cars and wandering among pretty young ladies. I was kind of annoyed at the slightly overwhelming "pretty young lady" thing-- Abel apparently can't take two steps without running into some charming young broad and feeling a stirring of romance-- but that was just another part of the over-the-topness of the whole thing, so I was all right with it.

I also really liked the message of Freaks. Abel has grown up in a circus, the 1800s-type circus with bearded ladies and siamese twins, and as he wanders about on his adventures he comes across loads more "freaks", who are his unlikely allies. The message is clearly that being different is great. That's an old overused message, I know, but it's still an important one. Freaks parades being different and, even though it's a ridiculous story, it's still a good one, and it means something.
But, then there's that Egyptian mummy who comes back to life and gets to be Abel's girlfriend. Now, look, I've read a lot of weird books with weird romantic intrigue, but that was... pretty weird even for my tastes. I think you've really got to take this story with a grain of salt, lest you drown in the silliness. The mummy was fun, and Klause managed to make it fun enough that I didn't totally care about the whole issue of her being several thousand years old, magical, and able to communicate with Abel and others through dreams. I guess the idea is, why not. A magic mummy. Cool.

I can't find many things I didn't like about Freaks, yet I'm not quite ready to give it five stars. I think the plot was a bit too loose, and Abel wandered from one situation to the next a little awkwardly at times-- also the endless stream of pretty girls kind of bothered me, and Abel, though he won me over at the end, wasn't a wonderful hero in the beginning stages, for whatever reason. I object to the idea that he's handsome. EVERY hero in these types of books doesn't have to be handsome. They can be ugly and hunchbacked, to take a page out of Jonathan Stroud's book.
Still, very little to hate. The ending was climactically silly and almost made me want to cover my face and moan, but I managed to pull through without having to do that. I'm definitely going to check out some other books by Annette Klause, because I like her writing style a lot she's definitely a cut above the other YA adventure novels that authors put out there. If you read Kenneth Oppel, read her too, or vice versa. It's basically the same style.

So four (or four point five) stars out of five for Freaks. I liked it a lot.

4/02/11 I'm finally getting started on this book which is saying something because I only picked it up because I am a crazy Blood and Chocolate fan... and I was majorly engrossed in the war diary I was reading, but anyways, as for the book, it's alright so far and could definitely be better. The main character Abel Dandy(who by my standards isn't so dandy) is trying to find a girlfriend, of dog-gene-less variety, but oh,don't get me wrong she's a nice girl Even if she does have some false illusion that she and Abel are somehow going to end up together, the guy could at least have the decency to put her down easy(ha ha pun. If he would have done that, he would have been a bit more likable.

4/8/11
This book is getting a little better, because it seems that the tables have turned. Instead of Apollo following Abel, it seems to be that Abel is following Apollo. Charming.
Also, I suspect that the skeleton man, Mr. Mink, is using some sort of gypsy magic to make Apollo love him so. It just seems odd that after year of companionship that they would part over a guy they just met. And oddly enough, this Mr. Mink guy on the cover seems very attractive. I mean, Mr. Mink is a completely attractive name but maybe that's me. Is it also me that finds transparent skin cute? Hmm. I thought so. All fascination aside amazing, Abel Dandy.

4/15/2011
This book is getting better and Abel is becoming a better person and oddly enough I am still in love with Mr. Mink and his always-funny wit also, I find a skeleton man intriguing. I am getting restless in this quest for Lady Adventure (who sounds sexy) and want her to find him, save Will N. and Apollo and the rest of the kids there. And I want Mink to DIE!! He'll be missed, in the small of my ever swelling heart.

4/18/2011
Finally finished with this book and I am glad to say that it was awesome and I give it an A-, the minus being for how Short Tauseret is. Besides that, it was great and I was glad that Abel found his LADY ADVENTURE even if she wasn't as cool as I imagined her to be. I'm just glad that CeeCee is dead and Mr. Mink isn't. That evil shell of a skeleton man does not deserve to die, even if he did deserve it. LADY ADVENTURE

very good book would like to read it again wish Ms. Klause would have written another.

This novel starts out as a very strange story and that doesn't really change, but it was such a fantastic story, with the most amazing characters that I just couldn't put the book down. The protagonist is Able, the only son of a couple who perform in a "Freak Show" You see his mother has no arms and his fathers has no legs. Able though was born "normal" and because he lives in a place where everyone has a talent and a deformity, he feels like an outcast and decides to runaway. He joins a circus where only talent and a perfect body are what you need to get along. From there he goes on to have adventure after adventure. All along the way he learns some beautiful lessons and some really ugly lessons. This novel was so beautifully written and probably and undeservedly a little under appreciated.

Possibly the best opening line I've come across in years, followed by a fascinatingly drawn view of early 20th century carnies, falls victim to a somewhat silly plot line. Actually, leave out the somewhat - it's a very silly plot line. In fact, didn't I see this on The Mummy once? You live with it for the writing, since Klause, as always, is good, but this is far from her best work. A pity, as the characters and setting dazzle, and the idea of having the protagonist be, by virtue of his very normalcy, a freak in his own world delights. For fans of Water for Elephants, Chang and Eng, Anne Rice's Ramses, or the XF's Humbug. The squeamish, or those easily tired by being beaten about the head with a metaphor, need not apply.