Freaks and Revelations

Freaks and revelations is a novel by Davida Wills Hurwin. Davida wrote this book about two of her very close friends Tim Zaal, and Matthew Boger. Freaks and Revelations is about a gay 13 year old boy and a 17 year old. The 13 year old’s name is Jason and the 17 year old is Doug. Jason is a homeless boy who got kicked out by his parents and Doug has an addiction to violence. This book is about 2 normal people and their struggles.

Jason is only 13 and he got kicked out of his parents house when he told them he was gay. Jason is trying to make a living off of this so he is earning his wages on street corner and befriending male prostitutes. Doug on the other hand is a tattooed, abused, racist. Doug smokes, drinks and travels with trouble making thugs in Los Angeles. Doug also is a Neo-Nazi who was beaten by his father a lot.

I think that this is a great book for people of ages 15+. The author wanted to share real life stories with the audience so they can have a different understanding on life which is what I look for in a book. I like how this book can connect with the readers in many different ways. If you don't know what to read I definitely recommend reading Freaks and Revelations.

Book Review by Alinka A.

Freaks and Revelations

Davida Hurwin has only written a few books, but among them is the gem Freaks and Revelations.

Doug is only 10 when his brother is shot and killed. He becomes an outcast and starts drinking and doing drugs at a young age until he finds Punk. For Doug, the punk scene is very relatable and he soon finds many others who share his point of view. He takes Punk as an opportunity to do drugs and wreak havoc while justifying it as “rebellion”. Eventually, the darker side of Punk starts to take him over and he becomes a skinhead. On the other side of life, Jason is a 12 year old boy who loves dancing and has minor family problems. One day his parents get divorced and poor Jason is left mostly on his own. He starts taking notice of other boys and decides to tell his family that he’s gay. This prompts his mother to kick him out. Having nowhere to go, Jason finds his way to San Francisco where he starts to hang around the Castro District. Having no other way to make money, Jason finds himself swept up into the dark and dangerous world of prostitution.

The book itself is very interesting because it is told from the perspective of both characters. It tells their tales so that key events in their lives seem to happen at the same time almost. As Jason is kicked out of his house, Doug finds the punk rock movement. The story never leaves you hanging always switching points of view when a characters life might get tedious. Something that struck me as very interesting is during the climax of the story where the two characters meet for the first time, the story switches points of view very quickly, on the same page even to really give the event a real time, blow-by-blow feel. Readers may find themselves feeling strong emotions for either of the characters as they go through hard times in their lives.  Speaking of which, another very interesting talent by the author is to take someone as hating and racist as Doug and really be able to make readers feel for him, right up until the end.

Being based off of a true story, this book is a great read for anyone interested in learning about the struggles of homeless LGBT teens or anyone looking to get a perspective on the other side of the story: Hate. The book is an interesting and captivating tale and readers are going to have a hard time putting this book down.

Book Review by Roan W.