Freaks and Revelations

Freaks and Revelations

Publisher

Little Brown and Company

Publication Year

2009

ISBN

9780316049962

Pages

226 pages

Genre

realism

Format

novel

Item Type

Fiction

Annotation

"You can come back when you're done being gay." Jason is a 13-year-old who comes out to his religious and conservative mother, only to be cast out of their home. Homeless, he learns how to survive, eventually turning to hustling as a way to live. Doug is a 17-year-old with an abusive father and a chip on his shoulder. Energized and empowered by violence, he gets mixed up with a group of Neo-Nazis. The lives of these two flawed teens spiral towards each other, and one fateful night their paths cross at a fast-food restaurant in Los Angeles, and a horrendous hate crime is committed. Freaks and Revelations is a raw and gripping novel based on the haunting true story of Timothy Zaal and Matthew Boger. Told in alternating perspectives by Jason (Matthew Boger) and Doug (Timothy Zaal), author Davida Wills Hurwin creates a fictional narrative that traces the tragic - but ultimately inspirational - journeys of two very polarized teens.

Grade Level

9-12

Diversity Topics

Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Separation; Family violence; Homelessness; Race discrimination; Gay/Lesbian; separated parents; abusive father; homeless child; homeless teenager; racism; biogtry; gay teenager

Main Character

boys

Race/Ethnicities

White

Family Formation

mother and father; separated parents

LGBTQ+

male/male

Awards

Choices, 2010 Fiction Young Adult
Gay and Lesbian Themes and Topics in Selected Children's and Young Adult Books, 2009 GLBTQ Children and Teens: Fiction
Rainbow List, 2010 Fiction
Sequoyah Book Award, 2011 - 2012
High School

Keywords

teenage boys; neo nazi; kicked out of home; violence; hate crime; California; harassment; abuse

Diversity Impact

direct

Freaks and Revelations

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