Freak Show by James St. James. A Story of Love, Drag, and High School.

Imagine you are the new kid in town. You just moved to a new school in a new state. Do you try to blend in with the crowd and make high school as quiet and uneventful as possible? Or do you stand up for your beliefs and be your own unique self as you make waves and rock the boat?

     Freak Show, a novel by James St.James, tells the story of a young boy who attends a conservative high school. Doesn't seem like much of a problem, right? Well, it wouldn't be, unless of course you're an aspiring drag queen. Billy Bloom is a gay teen who has moved to a new state and is having a hard time making friends. He is an outcast, but he doesn't let that stop him. His eyes are on the Homecoming Queen crown! He doesn't let the preps and football stars get him down, as he finds his own little ragtag group of misfits and shines with the bravado and fabulousness that Eisenhower Academy just wasn't ready for. 

     Billy Bloom's character is progressive, fun, and inspirational. He shuns the labels that society places on "not normal" people. He prefers to call himself a "gender obscurist" and constantly questions gender roles and appearances. The book itself seems to shirk away from labels and throws away ignorant perceptions regarding sexuality and identity. It's easy for the reader to understand Billy, as high school is often one of the most defining stages in a person's life. Honestly, Billy seems like the kind of person I would love to hang out with, maybe exchange some makeup tips and play around in some heels. He is a refreshing change to the normal high school romance character type usually seen in books and movies. You know who I mean (please refer to Twilight, You Can Never Go Home Again, She's All That, Perfect Chemistry, Something Like Fate...okay, I'm getting sick of thinking of these...). No, Billy is a strong gay characters that you can't help but root for. It's not just the fact that Billy is gay that sets him apart from other teen romance novels. It's the fact that he deals with the same themes, such as identity, blossoming sexuality, being the 'new kid', love, and friendship, but deals with them with strength and maturity that is often absent in teen novels. 

     This book is as if Hairspray and Mean Girls had a love child. There are times when it is overly-flamboyant (but still fun) and then there are cringe-worthy moments where one is reminded just how horrible and mean high schoolers can be to one another. There were times where I laughed out loud and there were times when I felt frustrated and sad. Billy's triumphs and frustrations become your own as you follow him on a fast-paced adventure in high school. As he rises above the hate and intolerance, he shows us that being true to yourself is more important that betraying who you are just because other people don't like it. 

     St.James' writing style is a tad unique. There are sections of the book that are written in different fonts and are in TOTAL CAPS, OMG!!11!1!!! This might be annoying to some readers, but I personally think that it adds to the affect that this story focuses on a high school kid. It's typed out exactly how a high schooler would write.

      Freak Show is a story that may be all too familiar to those in the LGBT community, and may be eye opening to those who are not as this story is filled with examples of the plight young gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender kids are forced to deal with while going through school. It doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, a drag queen or king, or even an alien from Mars... This book offers the universal message of acceptance. To a gay teen reading this book, they might get the message of "you can make it past the hard issues. Just be yourself and stay strong. It gets better.". To those who are already LGBT allies, the message is "Keep being supportive, because we're all in this together" and "Let's work hard to make the changes that will unite us as people, not labels". To others, the message may be more like "Maybe think twice about picking on the kid who is different." or "We're all unique in our own way. Why make things hard on each other?".  That's what made this book interesting to read; no matter what view point you have, there is a different message that has a common theme: acceptance and love. Freak Show engages the reader and makes them think about the traits we as a society celebrate, the traits we discourage, and if we should change our perceptions and attitudes.

Freak Show by James St.James is available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and retail booksellers. It is also available on Kindle and Nook e-reader formats.

*post review edit*

I went on a couple of other book review sites, just because I was curious what others felt about this novel. Many reviews were positive, some even thankful that James St.James wrote about such a topic. Others, unfortunately, were mean-spirited and sad. The more intolerant ones made me think, 'why did you even bother reading a book about a gay teenage boy if you're so against gays?'. 

It made me want to come back to this review and state my own views, not about the book, but about the issue presented in this book.

I have friends who come from all walks of life. Straight, gay, bi, trans...I look at people as people, not labels. I said this once in high school (and for the school paper, incidentally), and I still stand by it : "Labels are for packages. Not people." I am a part of the LGBT community. These people make up my friends and family.

If  you're the type of person who thinks anyone who isn't heterosexual is disgusting, then I implore you, read this book. Experience the story about this brave teen who stands up for his identity. Maybe this book could change your mind and teach you that acceptance is a wonderful thing. If not, thanks for at least humoring me by giving the book (and message) a fair chance. 

Thank you. Happy reading!